Unbreakable
by Fire and Ash
Summary: "I always wished I had a dad," she admitted quietly, staring up at the stars. "I guess I should have been careful what I wished for. Adam and my mom would still be alive if we had never met John Winchester." "I'm... sorry." Deep blue eyes met hers and a large, warm hand closed around her smaller one. "For everything you've been through." (Future Castiel/OFC)
1. Prologue

**_October 16th, 2002_**

**_Windom, Minnesota_**

It was a reasonably normal day in the Milligan household. Kate Milligan's son and daughter—Adam and Bethany—were in the living room, arguing with one another—yet again. Though this time, Adam thought it would be funny to hide Beth's book and then sit on her when she attempted to distract him.

"Mom!" Beth whined, struggling against her twin brother. "Adam's sitting on me again!"

"She was trying to distract me," Adam argued. He kept his eyes locked on the video game.

"Because you hid my book again!"

"Will you two stop arguing for five minutes?" Kate Milligan begged as she appeared in the living room, a basket of clean laundry perched against her hip.

"Sorry mom," they mumbled in unison. They both knew how hard their mom worked to support the three of them and she did it without any help from their dad... not that they knew who he was or if he even knew they existed.

"Now, Beth, stop distracting Adam." Kate set the basket down and began folding the laundry. "Adam, get off your sister and give her book back."

"It's in the fridge," Adam told Beth as he shifted off of her legs. "Hidden behind the milk."

"Why did you put it in the fridge?" she demanded.

"I knew you wouldn't look there," he shrugged and turned back to his game.

Beth let out a loud sigh, dragging her feet as she headed for the kitchen and opened the fridge, pushing the milk aside to grab her copy of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. The pages felt slightly chilled against her fingers as she walked back through the house and onto the front porch, settling down on the porch swing and opening it to her marked page.

Sometimes Beth wondered what it would be like if her dad was actually around. Would they do what every other family seemed to do? Would they go out for dinner every Wednesday night? Would they have picnics at the weekend? Would they argue about whose turn it was to do chores?

She was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of an engine approaching the house. Her hazel green eyes watched the black '67 Chevy Impala curiously as it stopped abruptly and a tall man with dark hair stepped out after a few minutes. The stranger's leather jacket covered a plain, dark green t-shirt and a black flannel shirt, the bottom of his jeans were tucked into his thick army boots.

"Hey kid, this your house?" he asked, voice gruff.

"Uh yeah, it is." She nodded slowly.

"Does Kate Milligan still live here?"

"Yeah. She's inside doing laundry." Beth closed her book standing up and stepping towards him. "What do you want with my mom?"

"She's an old friend," he shrugged, making his way onto the porch.

"What's your name?" Beth positioned herself in front of the door, refusing to let him inside.

"Bert Aframian," he said, assessing her through narrowed eyes.

"Liar," she countered and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Am I now?"

"Yes, you are. Your hand twitched when you said your 'name'," she explained, grinning smugly and offered him a shrug. "I'm _very_ good at reading people."

"You're also very cocky," he retorted, though he struggled to restrain a smirk. The kid kind of reminded him of his eldest son.

"Eh, thanks for the compliment." Beth readjusted her grip on her book. "So, you gonna tell me your real name? Or do I have to get my mom to call the cops?"

* * *

Adam pressed pause on his game, looking towards the window curiously at the sound of his sister's voice. He frowned, wondering who his twin could be talking to. He stood up and walked over to the window, peeking out to find a tall, dark haired male towering over his sister as they spoke quietly to each other.

"Mom, who's Beth talking to?" he asked, glancing back towards his mom.

"What?" Kate's eyes widened in worry.

"There's a man outside talking to Beth," he repeated and his mom rushed over to the window.

"Adam, stay inside," Kate grabbed Adam's baseball bat from beside the door and opened it slowly.

"Mom." Beth tilted her head back to look at Kate.

"Beth, are you okay?" Kate questioned, stepping cautiously onto the porch and glancing between her daughter and the suddenly all-too-familiar man. "J-John? John Winchester?"

"Hello Kate," John greeted, smiling at the blonde woman.

"Mom? Who is he?" Beth asked curiously, glancing between the two adults.

"Bethany, take Adam and go to your rooms," Kate ordered.

"But I-"

"_Now_, Bethany," Kate barked, shoving the bat into Beth's hands and pushing her back into the house.

"Fine," she grumbled. Her eyes flickered back to John once before she grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him up the stairs after her, but not before he caught a glimpse of the dark haired man.

"Who is he?" Adam whispered. He pried his bat from Beth.

"Beats me," she shrugged as the front door slammed shut and their mom led John into the kitchen.

* * *

**_(Three hours later)_**

"Adam, how much longer?" Beth demanded, laying on her stomach on his bed.

"I don't know," he shrugged with a frown.

"It's been three hours. Three_ long _hours." She nudged him with her foot. "I'm bored."

"Go see what they're doing then." Adam slapped her hand roughly as she tried to poke him again.

"What will I get in return?"

"My new batman comic," he offered.

"...It's a deal then." She shook his hand before rolling off of the bed and sneaking down the stairs. She avoided the last step, knowing it would squeak if too much pressure was applied to it.

Beth stopped beside the kitchen door, crouching down and using the shadows to cover her. Straining her hearing, she managed to catch a few words of their conversation. Her mom was telling John about the stuff that Beth and Adam had done over the years, such as Beth's talent at dancing and singing and Adam being interested in becoming a doctor. She was so wrapped up in listening to the sound of John's voice as he said something in response to her mom that she hadn't realised the kitchen had gone silent.

"Bethany Lyla Milligan," Kate scolded, hands resting on her hips as she stared down at her daughter, disapproval on her face. "What have I told you about eavesdropping?"

"To do it?" she offered cheekily, sending a grin at her mom.

"Just get your brother down here, there's something I have to tell you both," Kate sighed, deciding to let it slid for the time being.

"Adam!" Beth yelled and moments later her brother appeared, his shoes thudding heavily against the wooden floorboard.

"It was her idea," he said immediately, an innocent smile on his face.

"Was not," Beth argued.

"Yes it was."

"D'they always argue like this?" John questioned. He was leaning against the door frame, watching them in amusement.

"More or less," Adam and Beth said in unison.

"Come on," Kate interrupted and wrapped her arms around their shoulders.

"What did you want to tell us?"

"Well... I explained everything to John, so I think it's only fair that you two should know as well."

Beth glanced at her brother, sharing a worried look before two sets of eyes snapped back to their mom. John was silent, watching the trio with interest.

"Adam, Beth... John's your father," Kate admitted nervously.

Beth's jaw dropped, staring between her mom and her supposed 'father' in pure shock. She could tell without looking that Adam had reacted the same. Anger erupted inside of her, filling her and causing her to clench her fists tightly on the table.

"So you lied?" she asked finally, swallowing deeply. "When you said you had _no idea _who our dad was, you were lying this whole time?"

"Beth, I know you're upset but let me exp—" Kate was cut off as Beth stood up angrily, knocking her chair to the floor.

"No! I can't believe you! I thought you would've at least told us his name or that he was actually alive," she yelled before turning to John. "I haven't had a dad for 12 years and I certainly don't need one now."

"Don't talk to your mom like that," John ordered, a hint of warning in his tone.

Beth glared at John before turning on her heel, fleeing for the staircase and darting upstairs to her room. The door slammed loudly as John glanced at Adam, setting a comforting hand on Kate's shoulder.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us," was all Adam said before, he too, rushed upstairs, heading straight to his sister's room to comfort her.

Beth had thought it would've been different than this, that when she finally got to meet her dad, she would've been happy and eager to spend time with him. She didn't expect to feel nothing but anger towards both of her parents. For 12 long years, Kate had sworn to them that she didn't know who their dad was, that he had just been passing through town, and had never given her a name, but seeing the way the two adults had acted towards the other, they knew each other very well. Beth knew that she wouldn't forgive them for a long time, she was stubborn that way.

After all, stubbornness _was_ a Winchester family trait.


	2. Bonding with John

**_(Three days later)_**

It had taken Beth two days to even consider talking to her mom again and three days to be convinced to go out for the afternoon with her brother and John. It was really all thanks to her twin that she was currently following John as he led them through a very busy car park to a diner in the centre of town.

"Why are we doing this again?" Beth grumbled, trekking after John and her brother.

"Because mom asked us to," Adam replied. "And because he said he wasn't going anywhere until we do."

"Hurry up, you two." John looked back over his shoulder at them.

"We're coming," she huffed and stuck her tongue out when he turned away.

"You are determined to make this difficult, aren't you?" Adam grinned.

"Of course. Did you expect anything else?" she questioned mockingly.

Adam tapped his chin, pretending to be deep in thought as he messed her dark hair up with his free hand. "Hmm, no, I don't think I did."

"Dick," Beth insulted with a smirk and tossed her arm around his shoulders.

"Brat." She dodged as Adam attempted to punch her arm.

"Come on!" John called to them, holding the door open.

"I don't like this," Beth whispered before hurrying forward and ducking under John's arm.

"Neither do I," Adam agreed under his breath. He quickened his pace and followed Beth towards their usual booth at the back of the diner.

"So, I take it you come here often?" John asked as the young waitress Jenny smiled at Adam and Beth and ruffled their hair.

"We're regulars," Beth answered flatly.

"We've been coming here since we were three," Adam said in a more polite tone. He glanced down at his menu before deciding on his usual order of a glass of Dr Pepper and a cheese burger. "You should try the cheese burger, it's amazing."

"It really is," Beth nodded. She turned to grin up at Jenny as the blonde stopped beside them with a notepad in her hands. "Hey Jenny."

"Hey sweetie," Jenny beamed. "How's your mom doing?"

"She's fine, she's gonna be working late tonight," Adam input, handing his menu to her.

"Yeah, so she chose _him_ to babysit us." Beth jerked her thumb at John.

"Oh, and who are you?" Jenny raised an eyebrow at the dark haired man. She knew that if Beth held bitter feelings towards someone, it was for a good reason.

"I'm John. Their dad," he replied reluctantly.

"Unfortunately," Beth mumbled and received a slap around the head from Adam.

"Well... it's nice to meet you, John," Jenny said hesitantly as she sent a pitying look at the twins. "Are you ready to order?"

"We'll have our usual," Adam answered for both himself and Beth as he shrugged his jacket off and folded it, setting it on the seat beside him.

"And I'll have a cup of coffee, black, and a cheese burger," John requested.

"I'll be back in a minute with your drinks." Jenny turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Beth excused herself from the booth and disappeared through a door a few feet away.

John sighed, knowing it was going to be difficult getting Beth to open up to him or even talk to him civilly without being sarcastic or just plain rude.

* * *

"Does your sister always act like this towards people?" John asked, striking up a conversation with Adam.

"Just people who piss her off," Adam shrugged casually. "You're lucky she's even talking to you right now. The last time someone made her mad, she kicked them and didn't speak for two weeks."

"I'm guessing that person was you?" John caught the way his youngest child flinched, as if caught up in a bad memory.

"Oh yeah. I threw her book out of the window, so she kicked me." Adam sipped at his glass of Dr Pepper, waiting for Beth to reappear. "Mom grounded her for the two weeks that she was mute."

"When will she start being civil to me?"

"Well... she's been like this for three days... I would say you've got two more days before she's back to her usual self." A wide smirk crossed Adam's face. "Though I'm not sure if her usual self will be any easier to get along with."

"What are you two losers talking about?" Beth slipped back into the booth beside Adam.

"How much of a nightmare you really are," he teased.

"Oh yeah, I'll make your life a living hell," she nodded, playing along. John chuckled under his breath, he couldn't help but compare Beth and Adam to Sam and Dean, the two sets of siblings teased each other relentlessly but they were also fiercely protective of one another.

Jenny appeared moments later, setting their plates in front of them with a wide smile before turning around and heading over to another table to collect empty glasses and dirty dishes.

"So, Beth... your mom tells me you like dancing and singing," John started as he gulped a mouthful of coffee.

"Oh, yeah. I've been doing it since I was six. I have a class I go to every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday," she replied after swallowing the large bite of her burger. "I sing in my spare time but mom's been trying to get me to join the school's choir."

"And you're interested in comic books?" He turned to Adam.

"And video games," Adam nodded with a smile. "Beth likes to distract me, so I sit on her."

"In my defence, my idiot brother hid my book last time. I think it was only fair that I distracted him," Beth pointed out, nudging her brother.

"You deserved it, loser."

The three of them continued to talk as they ate their meals and finished their drinks. Beth had to admit, John took each of her sarcastic insults in stride, even returning it with some of his own taunts. She started to think that maybe it would be a good idea to talk to him more, to get to know him... It was mainly thanks to Adam that she was considering it, but of course she wasn't going to tell him that. She didn't want to build up his already large ego.

* * *

"I love your car, by the way," Beth stated, leading her dad and brother across the porch and through the front door.

"Thank you," John nodded.

"Mom?" Adam called as he hung his jacket up.

"Hey, glad I caught you," Kate smiled, appearing in the living room doorway. "I have to head off to work now."

"When will you be home?" Beth asked.

"Who knows?" her mom shrugged, pulling her hair into a loose bun at the back of her head and reaching for her coat. "You two will be fine, John'll watch over you."

"But he doesn't know our routine!"

"Then tell him," Kate answered, exasperated. "You're twelve years old, Beth, stop acting like you're five."

Beth crossed her arms over her chest, clenching her jaw at her mom's gentle rebuff. Kate rolled her eyes, used to her daughter's short temper. She cupped Beth's face and kissed her forehead quickly.

"We'll do something fun tomorrow, I promise."

"You'll be too tired tomorrow," Beth pointed out with a scowl.

Kate sighed, releasing her daughter. "I don't have time for this right now."

"You _never_ have time!"

"John, there's food and juice in the fridge, a pile of Adam's DVD's in front of the TV and their bedtime is 9:30." Kate wrapped a scarf around her neck and tucked her phone, keys and purse into her bag.

"We'll be fine," John promised, setting his hands on Beth and Adam's shoulders.

"Thanks." Kate blew a kiss to Adam and Beth and left, locking the door behind her.

"You know kid, you should cut your mom some slack." John guided them into the living room. "She works hard for you two."

"She wouldn't have had to if you had been here," Beth retorted and shrugged his hand off, flopping down on the couch.

"I have a life you know, and other responsibilities."

"Like what?" she raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

"None of your business kid." John picked up the remote and tossed it at her.

Beth scoffed and rolled her eyes turning the TV on and flicking through the channels until she found an episode of Friends. Adam headed to the kitchen, grabbing three cans of soda before returning to the living room, handing a can to John and Beth.

"Yum, grape," Beth said as she licked her lips and gulped down some of the soda.

"Your favourite," Adam nodded.

"I'm going to bed after this episode." She leaned her head on Adam's shoulder as John sat in the arm chair in front of the window.

"I'm gonna stay up for a bit longer so I can have another go at the video game."

Beth nodded, snuggling into her brother's side and sipping at her drinking. The two of them chuckled as Chandler finally got the closet open to reveal a huge mess and telling Monica that she's messy. John watched them with an amused smirk as Beth laughed too hard and soda came out of her nose, Adam pulled some tissues out of his pocket and handed them to her without blinking.

* * *

_"Hey shorty," a familiar voice greeted._

_"Gabe! You're here!" Beth grinned, rushing over to hug him. "And if I'm short, so are you."_

_"Humph, how rude." He stuck his nose up in a teasing manner._

_"Where are we this time?" Beth looked around her, taking in the warm, golden sand and deep blue ocean._

_"Some place in Spain," Gabe shrugged and sat down._

_"It's nice, I like it here," she decided after a moment. "It's nicer than the real world."_

_"What's wrong with the real world?"_

_"Adam and I finally met our dad. He showed up three days ago." She shrugged her shoulders, running her fingers through the warm sand. "He isn't what I thought he would be."_

_"What did you think he would be?" he asked gently, squeezing her shoulder._

_"I thought he would be happy that he had kids he'd never known before. I thought he would _want _to get to know us. But he acts like he's only doing it because it's expected of him." She turned to Gabe. "I don't think he even cares about us, he's always distracted when he's spending time with us, like he wishes he was somewhere else."_

_"Maybe he's just nervous?"_

_"Yeah, right," she scoffed dryly, "as if someone like _John Winchester_ could get nervous."_

_"John Winchester?" Gabe questioned._

_"Yeah, he's our dad... do you know him?"_

_"I've heard of him," Gabe replied, casually nodding his head._

_"What have you heard?"_

_"Just that he's stubborn," Gabe lied. He knew that he couldn't tell her about John's other kids, or what her dad actually did for a 'living', it wasn't the right time. "And he can be pretty bold when he wants to be. Like someone else I know." He poked her gently in the ribs with a grin._

_"Stop it!" she ordered, struggling to hide her own grin._

_Gabe looked to the side, the feeling that someone was about to disturb him taking over. He reached over and ruffled Beth's dark chocolate brown hair, smirking as she batted him away and tried to tidy her wild curls._

_"You have to go now, don't you?"_

_"How did you know?"_

_"You always mess my hair up before you leave," she pointed out._

_"Yes, I have to go," he nodded. "Someone's gonna disturb me in about 3 minutes."_

_"Okay. I'll see ya next time." Beth stood at the same time as Gabe and hugged him tightly._

_"Maybe you should go easy on your dad," he suggested lightly. "And remember don't sa-"_

_"Don't say yes to the one with electric wings," she nodded in exasperation, "because he'll have control and I'll be stuck in my own mind. I know, I _know_. You tell me every time."_

_"For your safety, small fry," Gabe said seriously, staring down at her._

_"And I appreciate it, but it's not like I'm going to forget," she told him._

_"I guess you won't." He bowed at the waist, winking at her. "Until next time, Bethany."_

_"Bye Gabe."_

_Gabe disappeared in a flash of light, leaving her sitting on the peaceful beach, watching the waves come and go until she would eventually wake up herself and have to face John again._


	3. Over the years

**_Disclaimer - I unfortunately don't own Supernatural, I only own Beth and any other OC's that may make an appearance during the story._**

* * *

**September 29th, 2003**

**(Adam and Bethany's 13th birthday)**

_"Bethany! Adam! Look who's here," Kate called from a few feet away._

_Beth glanced up from the magazine her and her two friends were looking at to find her dad standing beside her mom and the barbecue. She grinned and stood up, running across the grass and lunging at John, he caught her and lifted her into a hug._

_"Dad," she smiled as she locked her arms around his neck._

_After meeting his two young children a year previous, John had visited every so often whenever he could find time between hunting and making sure Dean wasn't getting into any trouble and had gotten to know them more and Beth had slowly welcomed him into her life. She was more willing to spend time with him without being encouraged by her mom or brother._

_"Hey champ." John set her down and patted Adam's back roughly._

_"Hello dad," Adam returned quietly before wandering back over to his friends to continue with their game of soccer._

_"What have you two been up to since I last saw you?" John questioned as he followed Beth over to the fold up picnic table they'd borrowed from their neighbours._

_"I've moved up a level in dance class," she told him and reached for a grape soda. "Adam passed his biology test; he got full marks."_

_"That's great news."_

_"What's that?" she asked curiously, staring at the newspaper wrapped gifts as he set one in front of her and kept the other beside him._

_"Your present... open it."_

_Beth hesitantly pulled it towards her and began ripping the newspaper open. Her eyes lit up as she took hold on the chain and lifted it up look at it properly. It was a gold locket with swirls on the cover. She opened it carefully and smiled at the picture of her, Adam, her mom and her dad that had been taken at the diner by Jenny last Christmas._

_"It's... it's beautiful, thank you." She looked up at him with a wide grin._

_"Look at the other side," John encouraged, pointing to the other side._

_On the other side of the locket were the words To Bethany Winchester-Milligan, love dad written in cursive. John took it from her, closing it and clasped it around her neck._

_"Thanks." Beth hugged him again, burying her face in his chest. "What did you get Adam?"_

_"A couple of video games, ones he said he didn't have," John replied quietly._

_"You best go give them to him then," she grinned. "He looks impatient."_

_John nodded and left the table, approaching Adam in two, quick strides and handing the present to him. Beth rubbed her locket gently, thinking that she was glad that she now had the chance to grow up with her dad in her life, even if he'd only been around for about year now._

* * *

**September 29th, 2006**

**Adam and Beth's 16th birthday.**

"Where is he, mom?" Beth stared up at her mom with confused eyes.

"I don't know sweetie," Kate sighed, stroking Beth's curly brown hair.

"But he said he was going to continue teaching us how to drive the Impala."

"I doubt he's gonna show up," Adam scoffed as he ran his hand through his own blonde hair. "He's three hours late."

Beth frowned, staring down at the table as she pried the bow from her hair and dropped it on her empty plate. Her hair fell in neat waves to her shoulders. She stood up, eyes sweeping over the pizza, salad and cake she had made especially for John before turning and leaving the room, running upstairs and slamming her bedroom door.

"I guess I'll put the food in the fridge... the pizza's gonna have to go in the cupboard," Kate sighed and climbed to her feet and began packing up the food.

"I'll help," Adam said and took the salad bowl and cake tray from her, heading to the kitchen and carefully setting them in the fridge.

Beth lay face down on her bed, staring out of her open window as she thought back to her last two birthdays and the time John decided to teach her and Adam how to drive.

_"What?" Beth couldn't believe her ears, she stared up at him in shock. "You're gonna teach us how to drive your car. The car you're fiercely protective over?"_

_"That's what I said," John nodded, a smirk on his face as he rested his arm on the top of the car._

_Adam shared a shocked look with his sister, both were thinking the same think, John had disappeared for an entire year and then he suddenly popped up again with the promise of teaching them how to drive. The past two birthdays had been eventful, __on their 14th birthday, John took her, Adam and their mom to a baseball game and someone had ended up getting hit in the face with the ball, resulting in a broken nose and a bloody shirt. Their 15th birthday saw them being taught how to play poker, something that Beth failed epically at and Adam was surprisingly good at. John had also bought them their first beers, Beth didn't like the taste of the beer and they both promised not to tell their mom that they'd had alcohol, knowing she would overreact and most likely ground them for a month._

_"Who wants to go first?" he asked, opening the driver's door and gesturing for one of them to get in._

_"Beth can go first," Adam smirked and pushed her forwards._

_She swallowed nervously and climbed into the car, looking extremely awkward as she stared at the steering wheel. John explained slowly how to readjust the seat in case she need to be closer to the wheel of the car or further back. When she moved the seat to what she deemed the right position, he closed the door and headed for the passenger seat, telling Adam to get in the back._

_"I-I don't think this is a good idea," Beth's voice wavered. "I mean, I couldn't even ride a bike without crashing into the wall until I was 10."_

_"You'll be fine, just listen to my instructions and you'll be driving a car properly in no time," John reassured her._

_Beth nodded jerkily, clutching the steering wheel with a vice like grip and breathed deeply, listening to her dad as he told her what to do first. Adam relaxed against the back of his seat, staring out of the window and tapping his fingers against his knee in time with the music that played quietly in the background._

_"I told you that was a bad idea!" Beth shrieked, slamming on the brakes and turning the engine off, she shot out of the car and slammed the door._

_"You're a beginner, of course it's gonna be difficult for you," John said in a calming tone._

_"I thought that was hilarious, the look on your face when we went over the bump." Adam burst out laughing, clutching his sides tightly, even as Beth shot him an icy glare, clearly not finding the situation funny at all._

_"You're an ass," she snapped, folded her arms over her chest and pouted pathetically._

_"That's why you love me." Adam hugged her from behind, their cheeks pressed together as he squeezed her tightly._

_"I suppose I do."_

* * *

Beth was jolted from her thoughts as a knock sounded at her door and it opened to reveal her brother. She sighed, waving a hand carelessly at him. He closed the door behind him and crossed the room, flopping down on the bed and resting his legs on her back.

"Your legs are heavy," she whined, voice muffled by the pillow.

"And you're pouting like a child," he retorted before sighing, "I know you're angry, but what did you expect? He shows up for birthdays and then disappears until the following year. He doesn't tell us where he goes or what he's doing."

"I thought he would care enough to show up for our sweet sixteen," she whispered and rolled over, fiddling with the frayed bottoms of Adam's jeans.

"I'm sorry," he shrugged, "but I'm not surprised."

"You know, it's funny; I started out resenting him for not being a part of our lives and you were more welcoming, and now the roles are reversed, I wish he was here and you couldn't care less," Beth chuckled dryly.

Adam smiled bitterly, cursing his dad for ruining their birthday for Beth, who had spent all morning—from about 5am—in the kitchen, making the pizza and cake from scratch and preparing the living room for him coming, pinning up birthday banners and arranging the music and setting the table. It was almost as if it was John's birthday and not theirs.

"It's okay," he whispered and drew her into a tight hug. "He'll show up sooner or later."

"I hope so," she replied and buried her face in his neck.

* * *

**University of Wisconsin-Madison**

**November 28th, 2008**

"Adam!" Beth squealed and ran towards her brother, throwing her arms around his neck and laughing as he spun her in a circle. "I've missed you!"

"I missed you too," he grinned and set her down. "I can't believe it's been two months since you've been gone."

"How's mom?" she asked, tugging at his sleeve to get him to follow her.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Adam pointed at a blonde woman standing with her back to them.

"Mom?" Beth called and the woman turned around, smiling at the sight of her daughter. "Mom!"

"Hey baby," Kate chuckled, drawing her into a hug.

"I can't believe you're here as well." Beth pulled away with an accusing look. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Adam replied and tossed his arms around their shoulders.

Beth had applied for a position at the University earlier in the year and had had an interview during summer vacation, to her relief—and joy—she'd been accepted to do The Bachelor of Science Degree for Dance. She'd left just after her and Adam's 18th birthday and had been at school for two months, staying in one of the apartments offered by the University.

"Come on." She took her mom's bag from her and slung it over her shoulder. "How long are you gonna be here?"

"A few days, mom's taking time off work, and I don't have to go back to Uni until Saturday." Adam ruffled her hair.

"I can't believe you're studying to become a Doctor," she cackled at him.

"Yeah well, it's something I've always wanted to do," Adam replied.

"I know. I think you'll be an excellent Doctor," she told him honestly, glancing up at him. "Now come on, my roommate is visiting her boyfriend, so you can stay in her room."

"Thanks for having us," Kate told her daughter, squeezing her hand lightly.

"Don't be silly, I love having you here," she grinned.

And it was true, Beth often got homesick and wished her mom would come and visit more often, or that she could find some time in between studying and working at the bar just down the road from her shared apartment. She was just grateful that Adam was also attending the same University as her, even if he lived 4 miles away and struggled to visit her.

She just wished that her dad had bothered to show up for her 17th and 18th birthday, and that he'd been there to see her and Adam off to University.

* * *

**_Author's Note - Hey! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'd like to let you know that the next chapter will be Adam and Beth returning from Uni, worried about their mom, who they haven't heard from for a period of time and then the events from Jump the Shark will happen. :D_**

**_So, enjoy! And let me know what you think._**

**_Fire and Ash._**


	4. Jump the Shark

**Windom, Minnesota**

Adam and Beth had decided to take a short break from Uni for a few days because their mom hadn't been answering any of their phone calls for about a week. Beth was being openly worried about her mom, but Adam was trying to hide how worried he was to keep his sister from panicking, he was also the one to pull her out of her classes and convince her to go back home to Windom to find out why their mom wouldn't answer.

"Do you think she's okay?" Beth asked hesitantly as they entered Windom.

"She'll be fine," Adam replied, trying convince both himself and Beth. "She probably left her phone at work or something."

"Mom never leaves her phone at work," she argued as she pulled her cell phone out and tried calling her mom again.

"I don't know what to tell you," her brother shrugged, just as concerned as her, "but we'll find her, she'll be okay."

Beth let out a ragged breath, closing her phone and tossing it back into her bag when it went straight to voicemail, _yet again_. She grabbed her water bottle and took a long swig of it.

"What... what if something bad has happened?"

"What are you talking about? Nothing bad has happened to mom," Adam answered sharply.

"We don't know that, Adam," she pointed out quietly.

"Look, we'll get to the house and look around and ask the neighbours if they've seen or heard from her recently," Adam said, staring intently at the road in front of them.

"Okay," Beth agreed and fell silent, watching the scenery pass by as they got closer and closer to their house.

Beth could only hope that they would find their mom, before it was too late and something bad happened to her. A part of her couldn't help but wish that John was there to help them look for their mom.

* * *

Dean let out a groan, hitting his arm against the door frame as he struggled to sit up in the front seat of the Impala. Sam turned back to look at him as his brother opened the door and all but fell out of the car.

"Hey," Sam smirked in amusement, "how'd you sleep?"

"How'd you think?" Dean grumbled as he braced his hands against the side of the car. Sam chuckled, going back to brushing his teeth. "I'm starved, let's get breakfast." He closed the door with a light thud.

"Where? We're like two hours from anything."

"Well I'm hungry now," Dean replied.

"There's probably still a sandwich in the back seat," Sam said.

Dean smiled and headed for the back of the car, pulling out a brown paper bag and opening it enthusiastically. He took one whiff of the contents and drew his head back, making a noise of disgust.

"Its tuna," he scowled, just as the sound of a cell phone ringing met his ears. He tossed the sandwich back into the car and patted his pockets, searching for the phone. When he came to the conclusion it was coming from the car, he opened the glove compartment and riffled through the pile of cell phones, pulling out one of his dad's old ones, hitting his head as he moved back out of the car.

"Isn't that dad's phone?" Sam questioned curiously and Dean nodded.

"Hello?" Dean said after flipping it open and accepting the call.

"_Uh... is this John?_" a male voice asked hesitantly.

"He can't come to the phone, can I help you?" Dean replied.

"_No, no, no. I really need to talk to John. This is Adam Milligan, he knows me,_" the male said nervously.

"_And Beth Milligan,_" a feminine voice chirped loudly.

"Well sorry to be the one to break this to you pal, but John died, more than 2 years ago." Dean glanced at Sam as his younger brother turned around.

"_W-what?_" the female at the other end asked, voice wavering.

"Who is this?"

"_W-we're his son and daughter,_" Adam told him.

Dean's eyes narrowed and his grip on the phone tightened as he told Adam and Beth that he would drive over to Windom—after asking where they were—and meet them himself. He hung up without a word, turning to Sam and telling him what had just been said.

* * *

**17th April, 2009**

**Windom, Minnesota**

"Come on," Adam grumbled, waiting for his sister to finish changing.

"I'm coming!" Beth replied sharply, pulling on her brown leather jacket and grabbing her messenger bag.

"I got a text message from Sam, he said they were at the diner now."

"I'm ready." Beth pushed him lightly, grinning at him.

"Good. Now we can go." He took hold of her arm and tugged her down the stairs and out the door, locking it behind them.

"You need to relax, the diner's only five minutes away and if they are too impatient to wait for us then that's their problem," she pointed out, "but they want answers, so they won't think about going anywhere."

"Okay, you're right," he scowled as she smirked in satisfaction.

"I'm always right," she boasted smugly. "I wonder what they're like."

"The other one sounded like a bit of jerk," Adam shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road.

Beth nodded thoughtfully, leaning back in her seat and watching the scenery whiz by, knowing that they were going to be one step closer to finding out how John had died.

"We're here," Adam's voice pulled her from her thoughts and she sat up, grabbing her bag and climbing out of the truck when he had stopped and turned the engine off.

"I guess this is it," Beth took a deep breath and followed him into the diner. They stood in the doorway, looking around, trying to determine who Sam was, when a deep voice met their ears and they turned to find a brunette and a dark blonde haired male sitting by the window.

"You Sam?" Adam questioned hesitantly.

"Uh, yeah. This is Dean." Sam pointed at the grumpy looking male beside him.

"It's nice to meet you," Beth smiled, letting Adam take the window seat before she sat down.

"You too... Bethany?" Sam held a hand out.

"Just Beth, actually." She reached across the table and shook Sam's hand.

"So, um, how'd you know our dad?" Adam asked, narrowing his eyes as Dean as he refused to shake Beth's hand and she sat back, looking away.

"We worked together," Sam said, reciting the lie he and Dean had agreed on.

"All right..." Adam drifted off awkwardly, clearing his throat and Beth smiled at the action, fiddling with her locket.

"That's a pretty locket, Can I see it for a minute?" Dean asked, mock polite and his tone left no room for arguing.

"Uh sure." She unclasped her locket and handed it over hesitantly. Dean opened it, his jaw clenching at the picture of John with two kids who could only be Beth and Adam and some blonde woman, who he assumed was their mom. He bit his tongue roughly to prevent himself from saying something he'd regret as his eyes skimmed over the words; _To Bethany Winchester-Milligan, love dad. _

He glanced between the picture of his dad and Beth and couldn't help but notice how alike the two were; Beth's features were more delicate than John's _obviously,_ but they both had hazel eyes, though Beth's were greener than John's and they had similar skin tones. She had her mom's high cheekbones and strong jawline and they both had dimples in their cheeks when they grinned in the photo. It seemed that Beth was a perfect mixture of her mom and John whilst Adam was more like Kate than John with his sandy blonde hair and blue-green eyes.

"When did John give you that?" Dean asked as he passed it to Sam.

"It was a present, for my 13th birthday," she replied, thanking Sam as he returned it to her and she clasped it around her neck again.

"How did dad die?" Adam asked when the group fell silent again.

"On the job," Sam explained.

"He's a mechanic, right?"

"A car fell on him," Dean interrupted harshly, glaring at the twins.

"Hey guys, how you doing?" Denise—Jenny's cousin—asked, smiling as she set two glasses of water in front of them.

"I'll take those." Dean grabbed the glasses quickly. "I'm very thirsty," he explained at their confused looks.

"You kids want the usual?" Denise looked away from Dean.

"Yes please," Beth nodded.

"Thanks Denise," Adam added. He picked up the glass in front of him and took a sip, swallowing as Dean watched him intently. The older male frowned when the holy water didn't work on Adam.

"Are you thirsty, Beth?" Sam queried, pushing another glass at her, at the last minute, he nudged it and it fell over, splashing Beth's hand and tank top.

"Holy crap! That is cold," she yelped, shaking her hand.

"I am so sorry, I'm clumsy," Sam said quickly when her skin didn't burn and she didn't scream in pain.

"It's fine." She waved off his apology, rubbing at her tank top with a napkin. "The water's just cold."

Dean shared a glance with Sam, silently encouraging his brother to keep talking.

"So, when's the last time you saw John?"

"I don't even know, it's been a couple of years," Adam said.

"Yeah, he was supposed to come to our 16th birthday," Beth added and gulped down a mouthful of holy water. "But he didn't show."

"Why did you decide to call him now?" Sam asked as Dean reached into his jacket, slowing drawing his gun out and pointing it at the twins under the table.

"We didn't know who else to call," Adam explained, shifting in his seat. "He's the only family we've got."

"Mom's missing," Beth pursed her lips sadly, watching Dean out of the corner of her eye and tilting her head as she wondered why he was staring at her so intently.

"I'm sorry. How long's she been missing?"

"Three days," she answered. "We hadn't heard from her for a while and we were worried, so we drove back here."

"It's tragic, really," Dean scoffed, causing them to frown at him. "But if you're John's kids, how come we've never heard of you?"

"Us and John didn't really know each other," Adam replied. "Not until a few years ago."

"What'd you mean?" Sam input.

"Mom never really talked about him, even when I kept hounding her for information," Beth chuckled, thinking back to when her mom would refuse to tell her and she'd beg and whine until she eventually gave up.

"We knew some stuff," Adam continued for his sister, "stuff we found out from mom's co-workers."

"What stuff?" Dean demanded.

"Our mom's a nurse, and dad came into the ER pretty torn up, he was in a hunting accident or something. I knew his name; John Winchester," Adam said. "That's about it. We're not exactly a nuclear family."

"Yeah well, who is these days?" Sam smirked.

"So when did you... when did you finally meet him?" Dean input.

"October, 2002," Beth replied, drinking some more water. "Just after we turned 12."

"Our mom had one of his old numbers, and after we begged her, 24/7, she finally called him." Adam put his hands in his pocket, unaware that Dean was pointing his gun in Beth's direction. "God, when John heard he had twins, he raced to town; I mean, he dropped everything. He drove all night."

"Yeah, he was pretty eager to meet us," Beth nodded in agreement.

"Oh, that's heart-warming," Dean muttered sarcastically.

"Here you go," Denise set two plates on the table in front of them.

"Thanks, Denni!" Beth grinned at the waitress.

"No problem honey." Denise ruffled her hair and went back behind the counter.

"You mind?" Adam asked politely, gesturing to his food.

"Oh no, please, _dig in_." Beth raised an eyebrow, wondering how someone could make that sound so threatening, so sinister.

They both set their napkins on their knees, avoiding touching the cutlery. Sam glanced and his brother and Dean nodded, taking the safety off of his gun as he leaned forward eagerly, waiting for them to be burned by the silver when they stopped fiddling and finally picked up the cutlery.

"He would swing by once a year or so, you know?" Adam told them.

Dean's eyes locked on Beth as she reached for her fork and lifted it up, stabbing a handful of pasta and sticking it in her mouth. He sighed deeply, annoyed when the two of them were unaffected by the pure silver.

"...Called when he could, but still," Adam shrugged, shovelling a forkful of eggs into his mouth. Dean put the safety back on his gun and stuck it back in his pocket. "He taught us poker and pool. He bought us beer when we were 15... Beth didn't like it, she couldn't stop gagging at the taste."

"It tasted horrible," she said defensively, turning back to Sam and Dean. "He showed us how to drive too. He had this awesome '67 Chevy Impala. I found it hard at first, I nearly crashed when we went over a hole in the gro-"

"Oh this is crap," Dean interrupted angrily and glared at them. "You know what? You're lying."

"No she's not," Adam said defensively, leaning towards his twin, who looked completely shocked at Dean's abrupt outburst.

"Uh, yeah she is," Dean countered, "and so are you."

"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you to call me or my sister a liar?" Adam demanded, dropping his fork and knife with a loud clatter as he reached out and grasped her hand.

"We're John Winchester's _sons_, that's who. _We_ are his kids," Dean growled, gesturing between himself and Sam.

Adam's expression turned to disbelief and he glanced at Sam, who nodded lightly, backing up Dean's statement. Beth's eyes were wide, her lips parted in surprise. Never in a million years had she imagined that she would have two more brothers out there, or that she'd even be meeting them now. She understood now that that's where John must have disappeared to for the rest of the year, back to his other kids.

"We've got brothers?" Adam asked quietly.

"No. You don't have brothers," Dean snapped. "Look, I don't know if you're hunters or what kind of game you're playing here-"

"I have never been hunting in my life. Neither has Beth."

"Whatever. I'm out of here." Dean stood up. "Come on, Sam."

Dean strode off towards the door of the diner and stopped just beside the counter, waiting for his brother. Sam smiled apologetically at them and stood as well.

"It was nice meeting you, Sam," Beth told him as he walked past.

"Uh, you too, Beth."

"Wait!" Adam called to them. "We can prove it."

* * *

Beth had chosen to drive on the way back to their house, with Sam and Dean following behind in the Impala. Now, they were currently standing in the living room, Adam was talking to Sam whilst Beth took Dean by his sleeve and led him over to the photo of her, Adam and John at a baseball game.

"He took you to a baseball game?" Dean questioned as Sam and Adam joined them.

"When we were 14," she told him gently, taking note of his wounded expression. "Mom took the photo for us."

"Dad was around for a few of our birthdays," Adam added.

"September 29th, 2004," Sam began, holding up a journal. "One word 'Minnesota'."

"What's that?" Beth glanced at Sam as Dean shrugged her off.

"Dad's journal," he answered shortly.

"He took you to a freaking baseball game?" Dean repeated, disbelief in his eyes.

"Yeah," Adam nodded and took the photo from Dean. "Why? What did dad do with you on your birthday?"

Dean scoffed sarcastically, looking away before he could see the confusion on Adam's face. Beth squeezed her twin's hand, conveying with her eyes to take no notice of the grumpy older male.

"Adam, you said you called dad because your mom was missing?" Sam input, trying to ease the tension between the two blondes and Beth, who was obviously gonna side with Adam in case another argument broke out.

"Yeah," Adam nodded.

"How long's she been gone?"

"About 3 days," Beth replied, repeating what she had said in the diner.

"Who was the last person to see her?" Dean asked, trying to reel in his anger and irritation.

"Mr Abbinanti, our neighbour. He saw her come home Tuesday night," Adam explained. Beth flopped down on the couch, stretching her legs out and hanging her head off the edge of the arm of the chair. "But she never showed up to work Wednesday."

Dean looked past Adam, eyes zeroing in on a picture of John and their mom with their arms around each other, smiling at the camera.

"Did you call the police?"

"Our mom's supervisor at the hospital did," Beth stated. "I also spoke to our other neighbour, Mrs Gregory, she said she thought she heard a struggle and called the cops, but they'd already been notified and had checked the house."

"We drove down here as fast as we could," Adam finished, a glassy sheen covering his eyes. "I—we should've been here."

"Mom would be here if we had been," Beth agreed, sitting up and tucking her hair behind her ears.

"What'd the cops say?" Dean cleared his throat awkwardly.

"They searched the house but they didn't find anything suspicious," Beth said as she met his gaze. "Our mom wouldn't have left without telling anyone... without telling us."

"It's like she just dropped off the face of the earth, you know?" Adam blinked rapidly, turning his head away from Sam's pitying look.

* * *

"What are you looking for?" Beth asked. She folded her arms over her chest as Dean moved the dresser in her mom's room away from the wall. He ignored her in favour of looking at two pictures, one was of Kate holding Adam whilst feeding him with Beth sitting on her lap, clapping her hands together and the other was of Kate, John, Adam and Beth hiking one day, back when they were twelve.

"The night stand was knocked over, anything else?"

"Not really, the Sheriff said there's no sign of a break-in," Adam piped up from the doorway.

"Do you think the cops missed something?" Beth risked a step closer as Dean looked around the room.

"Maybe. They don't have my eyes," Dean answered cockily.

"You're a mechanic," Adam reminded him, eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Yeah, that's right." Dean turned back to them after lifting the curtain and dropping it.

"Weirdo," Beth mouthed at Adam, who chuckled quietly, rolling his eyes.

"I saw that, princess," Dean called over his shoulder. "I have eyes in the back of my head. And if anyone's the weirdo, it's you."

"Oh yeah, how'd you figure?"

"From the picture of you hanging upside down from a tree dressed as a mermaid," Dean replied without pause.

"Okay, you got me there." Beth cracked a smile at him.

"Dean, what else can you tell us about dad?" Adam asked seriously after a moment.

"You knew him," Dean shrugged.

"Not as well as you," Beth countered, jumping to Adam's aid.

"Trust me kid, you don't wanna know."

Adam frowned, looking ready to reply when footsteps indicated the arrival of Sam, who had left the house about half an hour ago to go and do something or other, Beth really had no clue what he was doing.

"Give us a minute," Dean ordered and followed Sam into the hall.

"Well, he's just a bundle of joy," Beth muttered sarcastically, sitting on the bed beside Adam and shrugging her jacket off.

"I prefer Sam... he was nicer to us at the diner," Adam replied just as quietly.

"Did you see Dean's face when he was looking at the picture of us and mom and dad? It's like dad never did anything nice for him or took him and Sam out for fun."

"It's not really our business."

"...I suppose you're right," she sighed with a teasing grin. "Always the voice of reason."

"Hey, does your mom know Joe Barton?" Dean asked, holding up a picture of a guy with glasses.

"I don't think so, why?"

Dean sighed and lowered the picture to his side, when he went to look away, he noticed something in the corner of his eye and looked down at the floor, where five long scratches lay on the wooden floorboards, disappearing under the bed.

"What is it?" Beth quickly stood up, grabbing her jacket and pulling Adam off the bed as Dean stopped beside them and moved the comforter, getting down on his knees to look under the bed.

"Give me a hand with the mattress," Dean said and Sam pulled Beth backwards to stand beside him as their two brothers got to work on moving her mom's mattress. Underneath her mom's bed was a very rusty looking vent cover.

"What _are_ you doing?" she demanded as Sam and Dean proceeded to participate in a game of rock, paper, scissors and Dean lost, much to his dismay.

"Every time," he grumbled.

"Okay, we have nut cases for brothers," she mumbled to Adam and chuckled.

Beth, Sam and Adam waited patiently in her mom's room while Dean climbed into the vent with a flash light in one hand and a gun in the other. She sighed, setting her jacket down and fiddling with her locket.

"What's taking him so long?" Beth asked, looking up at Sam.

"I don't know," Sam replied, just as the sound of thudding drifted from the vent. "Here he comes."

"You guys need to call the cops," Dean told them urgently as he heaved himself out of the vent.

"Wait, what?" Beth demanded, wide eyed. "Why?"

"Because there's a whole lot of blood down there," he answered gently, squeezing her shoulder.

"B-but that means..." Adam trailed off, a queasy look crossing his face.

"Look, just call the cops. We need to get out of here," Dean directed towards Sam, who nodded and headed for the stairs, followed by Dean, a horrified Beth and a confused Adam.

"Why are you leaving? Why can't you stay here for the cops?"

"It's better if we're not here when they get here," Sam explained calmly. He took the flash light from Dean and shoved it in a duffel bag at the foot of the stairs.

Without another word, their older brothers darted out of the house with the bag, tossing it onto the back seat of the Impala and driving away after getting in the car. Adam and Beth shared a mutually concerned look and went back inside, Beth heading for the phone and Adam heading for the kitchen to get some water.

"...They'll be here in five minutes," she told Adam, hanging up the phone after a three minute long conversation.

"When they leave, we're going to see our brothers," Adam said firmly. "I wanna know what they're hiding."

"Me too," Beth agreed.

* * *

The moment the cops asked them to leave, claiming their house was now a crime scene, Beth and Adam went willingly, grabbing their bags and Beth's jacket and heading off towards Adam's truck.

They arrived at the motel Sam and Dean were staying at and climbed out of the cab of the truck quickly, storming towards the room with the number that Sam had given them back at the house. Adam banged on the door, shaking his fist afterwards in an attempt to rid it of the stinging sensation that raced across the side of his hand.

The moment the door opened slightly, Adam shoved his way inside, followed by a quiet Beth, who twitched her lips into a half smile at Sam and closed the door.

"Who the hell are you?" her twin demanded immediately.

"Adam, hey. Take it easy," Sam said in a soothing tone. Dean quickly covered the gun parts on his bed with a large cloth to prevent Adam and Beth from seeing it.

"No, don't tell me to take it easy!" Adam yelled. "Our house is a crime scene, our mom's probably dead, and you two, well you told me to call the cops but you gotta bail before they show? So who are you, really?"

Beth took over from Adam as they looked between their older brothers, "The cops didn't know where to look, Dean. But somehow you did."

"And I heard you talking earlier, something about grave robberies." Adam added with a frown. "You're not mechanics."

"What is _that_? Why do you have a gun?" Beth demanded, taking a large step backwards.

"For protection," Dean replied simply.

"Against what?" Beth asked before pausing, reconsidering her question. "You know what, I don't wanna know."

"Yeah, well I do. I wanna know what's going on, right now," Adam said, a lot calmer than before. "Please."

"We're hunters," Sam admitted after a brief period of silence.

"Sammy," Dean warned.

"They deserve to know, Dean," Sam countered.

"What do you mean, 'hunters'?"

* * *

**_(The next morning)_**

"You are hunters of the supernatural," Beth summed up, nodding her head. A panicked look suddenly crossed her face and she shot up. "You guys are crazy!" she yelled at them. "It's just my luck that I get lumbered with two new brothers who just so happen to be completely psycho."

Adam pulled her back down beside him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "So, basically you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had... that's all real?"

"Godzilla's just a movie," Dean said sarcastically from the table in the corner of the room and Sam rolled his eyes.

"We hunt them, so did dad," Sam replied.

"Okay," Adam said.

"Okay?" Dean and Beth repeated together in disbelief.

"What am I supposed to say?"

"That we're liars, that we're crazy—like your sister did. Nobody just says 'okay'." Dean retorted.

"I agree with Dean," Beth pointed out.

"You're our brothers. You're telling the truth, right?" Adam directed the question at Sam.

"Yeah," Sam promised.

"Then I believe you."

"Well I don't. Adam, we don't know these people, they could be escaped mental patients for all we know," she hissed at him, trying to get him to see sense but he ignored her in favour of asking more questions.

"Do you know what took our mom?"

"We're not sure... something's in town, stealing bodies, living and dead." Sam glanced at Beth to find her eyeing him warily. "But we don't know what."

"There's long list of freaks that fit the bill," Dean input.

"You think maybe she might still be alive?" Adam asked hopefully.

Sam and Dean were silent, both lowering their gazes as Adam looked at them. Beth's heart clenched tightly within her chest and she bit back a pained gasp at the thought of her mom being actually dead, with no hope that she might still be clinging to life, somewhere.

"How can we help?"

"You can't," Dean barked.

"This thing killed our mom, and if you're hunting it, I want in."

"No." Dean glared back at Adam before his eyes slid to the right to look at a completely silent Beth who was fiddling with her necklace again, running her fingers over the smooth surface of the locket.

"Dean, look. Maybe-"

"Maybe what?" Dean interrupted.

"They lost their mom, maybe we can understand what that feels like," Sam replied sharply.

Dean stood up, their dads journal clutched tightly in his hand. "Why do you think dad never told us about these kids, huh Sam? Why do you think he ripped out the pages?"

"Because..." Sam trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Because he was protecting them," Dean told his younger brother roughly.

"Dad's dead, Dean," Sam reminded him calmly.

"It doesn't matter," Dean said firmly. Beth's eyes flickered between the two, watching nervously as they argued with one another. "He didn't want Adam or Beth to have our lives and we're going to respect his wishes."

"Do we get a say in this?" Adam questioned, watching as Dean threw the journal of Sam's bed.

"No," Sam and Dean snapped in unison.

"Babysit the kids." Dean headed over to the coat rack and grabbed his jacket.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going out!" Dean shouted.

Beth stood up, eager to get out of the motel room. "C-can I come as well? I'd really like some fresh air."

"Fine. Whatever," Dean said, heading out of the room.

"I'll see you later." She quickly hugged Adam and waved awkwardly at Sam before hurrying after Dean.

* * *

_Down, deep in the dark, lay a girl with rib length dark brown hair and hazel green eyes. Scratches covered her body. From head to toe, blood coated almost every available patch of skin. A long cut had been made down each of her arms and on the side of her neck._

_Her eyes were squeezed shut as she desperately tried to block out the screams that haunted her every waking minute... and her dreams. The others were already dead, killed slowly and painfully. She was made to watch, and listen, as the monsters tore into her family and that poor stranger._

_She didn't want to be here. She wanted them to just end it, to not draw her fate out any longer._

_But they wouldn't show her such kindness. They wanted her to die just as slowly and painfully as their other victims... they wanted her to die screaming._

_She didn't want to give in, but if someone didn't find a way to save her soon, she would die exactly how they wanted her to._

_She would die alone and forgotten._

* * *

"This tomb was built in 1926," the old man explained, pulling the door open and gesturing for Dean and Beth to go in ahead of him. Dean had changed into a suit and a long coat and had broken into Beth's house so she could get a white shirt, black skirt and tights and a pair of black, high heeled shoes. He also bought her a brand new black blazer, seeing as she didn't own one before. "Four generations of the Millsap family were interred here."

"They don't build them like this anymore," Dean commented, staring at the gaping hole in one of the tombs that was missing a large slab of stone.

"Tell me, Agent Nugent, Agent Howard." The man turned to them. "Have you thought about where you would like eternity?"

"All the damn time," Dean said in response.

"Uh, no, I haven't. But I'll be sure to let you know when I have," Beth answered, taking the offered card.

"So, three bodies went missing. Any idea who did it?" Dean questioned as he walked further into the mausoleum.

"Hooligans. Sick, deranged hooligans."

Dean crouched down and gestured for Beth to come over, which she did and adjusted her skirt so it wouldn't show off her underwear when she crouched beside him. He ran his fingers over some sort of black liquid on the side of the tomb.

"This isn't blood, what is it?"

"No, it's embalming fluid," the man replied in disgust, "who ever committed this crime didn't just take the corpses; they opened them up."

"Ugh, that is just gross," Beth muttered, sticking her tongue out.

"Come on, let's go," Dean told her and stood up, thanking the man and leading her out of the mausoleum and back to the car before he drove off towards their next destination.

* * *

"Why are we here?" Beth whispered, following Dean into the bar.

"Because I want a beer," he replied and headed to the counter.

The two of them sat down and Dean took a piece of paper out of his pocket as Beth took her blazer off and set it in front of her. The bartender grabbed two glasses and approaching the tap beside Dean, pouring beer into both glasses.

"First beer's on the house for cops," she explained. "Feds too."

"Are we that obvious?"

"I know all the local badges," the lady smiled. She set the large glasses in front of them. "And you've got that law-and-order vibe."

"Thank you." Beth took a sip from her glass of beer and had to restraining the urge to spit the bitter liquid back out.

"So, what're the FBI doing in Windom?"

"Looking into the disappearance of Joe Barton," Dean answered and slid the picture of Joe to the bartender. "I assume you knew him," Dean pointed out, taking in the woman's sad expression.

"A little," she nodded weakly. "I'm his wife, Lisa."

"Well, Lisa, what can you tell me about his disappearance." Beth's older brother slipped the picture back into his coat.

"Same thing I told the Sheriff," Lisa said. "He stayed late, Friday before last to do inventory... never came home."

"And the police?"

"Nothing," Lisa shrugged, cleaning glasses with a towel. "Truth is, I was scared they stopped looking. But now you're here."

"Joe was a cop?" Beth followed Dean's gaze to a picture of Joe behind the bar dressed in uniform.

"Deputy, for a little while," Lisa explained. "That was a long time ago."

"He didn't happen to work the grave-robbery case back in '90?"

"He did, yeah," Lisa nodded. "He was the one who found those bodies. He got an award for that."

"That was an interesting case." Dean looked towards a newspaper clipping from 1990 to do with the case and looked back to Lisa. "He ever tell you how he did it?"

"Most of the time, he'd say 'good, solid, police work.' But after a few beers, he'd admit he had help."

"From who?" Beth asked curiously, half way through her beer.

"A specialist, that's all he'd say."

"Cops ever find the guy who stole the bodies?" Dean queried.

"No. But whenever I'd ask Joe, he'd say not to worry, that 'we took care of what done it'."

Beth looked curiously at Dean who simply tilted his head to say he would tell her later and she nodded, finishing her beer and ordering a glass of pineapple juice.

* * *

"That was so much fun!" Beth grinned, glancing at Dean. "I have never pretended to be an FBI agent before... can we do it again?"

Dean chuckled at Beth's enthusiasm, remembering a time when he got that excited over dressing up and tricking people into thinking he actually _was _an FBI agent or a reporter. Some people were just so gullible.

"Not tonight," he replied seriously, but Beth's smile didn't dim or falter, in fact, it grew bigger.

"Another night?" she hedged. A hopeful expression on her face.

"...Maybe."

"Okay, I can live with maybe." Beth turned her head to stare out the window as they drove back to the motel.

They reached the motel in minutes, pulling to an abrupt stop as Sam was struggling against the thing trying to pull him under Adam's truck. Beth quickly scrambled out of the Impala and sprinted over, grabbing his hand and tugging with all her might. Adam grabbed the same arm that Beth was pulling at and Dean grabbed Sam's other arm. When they finally pulled Sam free, Dean grabbed the sawed off shotgun and got down on one knee, quickly firing one shot under the truck.

"Holy cow... that was scary," Beth panted from where she was sprawled on the ground, Adam leaning heavily against her. "Are you okay, Sam?"

"I'm fine," he assured her with a small, breathless smile.

The three of them got to their feet, watching as Dean picked up the keys to the truck and got in, reversing backwards until a man-hole cover came into sight. Dean approached it slowly, the gun clutched tightly in his hands. He dabbed his fingers in some dark red, almost black liquid and rubbed his fingers together before wiping them on his coat. He headed over to Sam, Beth and Adam, the three of them all looked to him for some explanation.

"I winged it," he explained, "did you see anything?"

"I didn't get a good look," Sam sighed.

"What the hell is this thing?" Dean muttered after depositing the gun in the back seat of the car.

"Should we go after it?" Adam pitched in hesitantly.

"No. In that maze? That thing's long gone." Dean tucked his hands in his pockets, sending a glance over at Adam.

"Alright, so we don't know what it is," Sam concluded. "But we know who it's going after; Joe Barton, their mom..."

"And Adam and Beth," Dean finished. "It was under his truck just waiting for them."

"It set a trap and I walked right into it," said Sam with a frown.

"Doesn't matter, there's a pattern," Dean told them. "Joe Barton's a cop. I'm pretty sure he helped out dad. So we got him, dad's girl, and his kids."

"All the people dad knew in town," Sam realized. Adam and Beth were silent, watching the exchange with curious eyes. Beth glanced at Adam in time to see him send a smile in her direction.

"At least we know why it's back," Dean pointed out.

"It wants revenge," Adam input quietly.

"We should go back to the house, get Adam and Beth's stuff," Sam suggested. "We can send them to Bobby's."

"Sounds good," Dean nodded with a look in his eyes that cancelled out any thoughts of protesting from the twins.

* * *

When they reached the house, the four of them went to the back door and Beth unlocked it, her and Adam ducking under the police tape. Dean rolled his eyes and simply tore the tape down from the doorway before entering the kitchen. Sam followed without a word.

"Grab your stuff, we'll hit the road," Dean ordered as he walked after them into the hallway.

"Yes boss." Beth saluted and headed for the stairs.

"They're talking about us," Adam said as he walked into Beth's room after packing some belongings into a rucksack.

"Obviously. We're just that interesting," Beth grinned. She finished packing clothes into a duffel bag and set her make up bag and soap bag in it before putting her guitar in its case and making sure it was closed properly.

"You're so weird," he scoffed as he led her back down the stairs.

The two of them approached the kitchen, hearing the last part of the conversation. Apparently Sam wanted to use them as bait to catch the thing hunting them but Dean was determined not to let it happen.

"I'll do it," Adam said and stepped into the kitchen. "Whatever it takes, we'll do it. We wanna do it."

"Wow, okay, hold up," Beth ordered, holding a hand up. "I never agreed to be bait."

"Do you wanna spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder?" her twin demanded.

"Well, no. But-"

"Then it's settled. We _both _want to do it."

Beth sighed in exasperation, knowing there was no way she could possibly argue with him now, not when his mind was made up. But she did feel that it kinda sucked that she was being dragged into it when she didn't want to be used as bait.

* * *

"Hey Dean," Beth smiled at him as she handed a bottle of beer to him.

"Where did you even get that?" he questioned but accepted it.

"Adam had a pack of them in the fridge, so I stole some for you," she shrugged. "It's the least he can do, wanting to use himself and I as bait and all."

"Fair point," Dean conceded and took a swig of the still cold beer. "Why aren't you over there with those two?"

"Because I wanted the honour of your company?" she suggested with a grin. "Nah, I thought it best to leave the gun training to the people who are _less_ likely to shoot themselves in the foot."

"You that clumsy?"

"Oh yeah. It's unbelievable how clumsy I can be," she stated. "It all disappears when I start dancing though. I'm in no way clumsy at that."

"You're a dancer?" Dean looked at her curiously.

"Since I was kid." She nodded in confirmation.

A series of shots being fired had them turning their heads to see Sam congratulating Adam on hitting the bull's eye on his first try. Dean rolled his eyes with a scoff, turning away from the scene.

"...You really don't like us, do you?" Beth asked, her face falling.

"It's not that I don't like you," Dean said dispassionately. "I just... I don't want you brought into this life like we were."

"Well that's fine by me, because I can assure you that I have no interest in becoming a hunter," she told him honestly, folded her arms over her chest. "But... I would like it if we could keep in touch after this is all over. If that's okay with you?"

"I could agree to that," Dean agreed with a teasing wink.

* * *

Back at the house, Sam was showing Adam and Beth a book full of different supernatural beings and that their strengths and weaknesses were. Dean was perched on the unit behind them, his displeasure rolling off of him in waves.

"So then we lit it on fire," Sam finished telling them the story of a wendigo hunt from 2005.

"With a homemade flame thrower?" Adam asked, eyes alight with awe.

"That is so cool," Beth laughed, amazement clear on her face.

"They're easy to build," Sam explained, "I'll show you."

"This is some job you got man," Adam breathed, glancing back at the book.

"Being a hunter isn't a job, Adam," Sam began seriously, his tone making the twins look up curiously. "It's life. You're pre-med, You got a girlfriend? Friends?" he directed at Adam before turning to Beth. "You're doing a BS degree for dancing, which means you have friends and other dancers you care about."

"I do..." Beth replied, confused as to where he was going with this.

"Not any more you don't," Sam continued and Beth's face screwed up in disbelief, wondering who the hell he thought he was to tell her she couldn't have friends. "If you're really gonna do this, you can't have those kinds of connections, ever. They're weaknesses. You'll just put those people in danger, get them killed. That's the price we pay. You cut them out and you don't look back. There's only one thing you can count on. Family."

Beth stared intently at her hands, trying to ignore the hole Sam was currently burning into the side of her head with his strong gaze. Adam looked down as well, feeling as though he'd just been reprimanded for stealing the last cookie out of the jar, like he had done when he was a kid.

"Sam?" Dean interrupted. "Can I talk to you?" He stood up and headed for the hallway, leaving Sam no choice but to follow.

"He's in for it now," Beth sing-songed with an amused smile.

Adam chuckled quietly in response, silently agreeing with his sister's statement. From the irritated look on Dean's face, it was obvious that Sam was in for an earful from his older brother.

* * *

_It was still dark. It was always dark down there._

_The girl let out a shaky breath, a visible cloud rushing past her lips and evaporating into thin air after floating towards the ceiling. Her colourless lips trembled as she shivered from the cold, having no possible means of regaining warmth._

_Her creamy white tank top matched the colour of her skin perfectly, blending together to make a brighter white, it was also spattered with drops of blood. Her blood. Her brother's blood. Her mom's blood. Her skinny jeans were ripped and bloody, her shoes long gone. Her once shiny, wavy hair was dull and tangled, as lifeless as she currently felt._

_She knew time was running out. She knew that they would come back soon, to torment her some more._

_All she could do was tremble and weep in the cold darkness as her inevitable death loomed closer._

_She just wanted to be saved._

_"Please help me," she thought pleadingly, wheezing harshly._

* * *

When Dean left the house, he drove straight to the graveyard, parking quickly and grabbing a flashlight and gun, strode through the open doors of the mausoleum. He looked around for a few minutes, examining the broken tombs once again. A light breeze suddenly brushed against his legs and he turned, seeing the cobwebs in front of the stone wall swaying slightly, there was a small gap between two large slabs of stone.

Dean returned from the Impala moments later, carrying a crowbar, which he used to tug the stone free from the other stones before pulling it out with his hands. He repeated this action another three times to remove the surrounding stone and crouched down, being met with a long, dusty tunnel that opened up at the other end.

He dropped his head with a sigh before pushing himself up and into the tunnel, army crawling his way through it. When he got to the other end, he pulled himself onto his back and rolled out of the opening onto a coffin, coughing as a cloud of dust rose into the air.

"Home sweet home," he muttered, eyes sweeping over the dirty floors and walls, the chipped black coffins and the bones that littered the place. Disgust crossed his face as he looked down to see a severed arm and a pair of thick, blood covered glasses. "Sloppy Joe," he commented crudely.

A sudden noise had him shooting to his feet, in time to see a pair of hands shifting the stone slabs back into place, sealing him in. Dean fired a few shots in the person or creatures direction but missed, instead causing a large handful of dirt to fall and slid down the tunnel towards him. He ducked and covered his head.

"Oh, son of a bitch!" He growled, glaring at the dirt covered tunnel. He repeated his previous words when his phone failed to get a signal.

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" Beth called, covering the window ledge in her bedroom with a large line of salt.

"Yes, it'll stop anything coming in through your window," Sam called back, already occupied with nail a large piece of wood over one of the many vents in the house.

"That makes _total_ sense," she muttered sarcastically but moved onto Adam's room with the bag of salt.

When they finished covering the house in salt and wood over the vents, they met up in Adam and Beth's mom's room. Beth dropped the bag of salt carefully onto the night stand and perched herself on the window seat, being careful as to not disturb the salt line.

"All right, we've closed off all every other way into the house. If this thing's coming, it's coming through here," Sam explained, staring down at the vent that used to be covered by their mom's bed.

The door opening and closing downstairs had them sharing a cautious look before Beth stood up and edged her way over to them.

"You were saying?" Adam asked sarcastically.

"Adam? Bethany?" a familiar, feminine voice called out.

"Mom?" Adam questioned in disbelief. Beth's face lifted and her eyes lit up happily.

"No!" Sam shouted as the two of them raced for the door.

"Mom!"

"Beth! Adam!" He chased after his two younger siblings.

Beth skidded to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes growing wide as she stared at her mom. Adam's reaction was similar before his lip grew into a smile and he walked forward, Beth following at his heels.

"Mom," Beth beamed.

"Adam, Beth, wait!" Sam called.

"It took me, but I got away," Kate gasped, welcoming her twins into her arms.

"It's okay," Adam reassured her, hugging her tightly.

"You're home now- that's what matters," Beth added.

"You two, step away from her," Sam ordered, pointing a gun at Kate.

"Sam, what the hell?" Adam demanded as he pulled back from the hug.

"She's not your mother," Sam snapped.

"Bethany, who is that? What's going on?" Kate looked confused and terrified and Beth placed herself between Sam and her mom with a rush of fierce protectiveness washing over her.

* * *

Dean continued to push at the door, hoping that it would break open, but to no avail. The door was stiff and unmovable from years of not being used. Giving up, he turned and examined his surroundings, brushing aside a handful of small bones with his foot as he walked further into the tomb.

He walked past a skeleton with blonde hair that sat on the ground near the coffin he had landed on. He lifted the lid and gagged at the foul smell, covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve. Inside the coffin lay the mutilated body of Kate Milligan, she looked peaceful, despite the fact that her body had been ripped open and her internal organs were on display.

* * *

"What's going on?" Kate demanded fearfully, clinging to Adam and Beth.

"Get away from them," Sam ordered once again.

"It's really her, okay?" Adam said defensively.

"There was too much blood. Your mother's dead. There was too much blood in the vent," Sam argued. He attempted to grab Adam and pull him to his side but Adam latched onto the gun, yanking it from Sam and swinging it between his brother and mother nervously.

"Adam, put the gun down," Beth pleaded, ignoring the twinge of pain that erupted in her arm as her mom dug her nails into her skin.

"Adam!" Kate gasped.

"Shoot it!" Sam barked, holding his hands up.

"He's crazy, honey. It's me," Kate told Adam pleadingly.

"Adam, look, that is not your mother," Sam told him. Beth yelped, stumbling back as Adam spun around, the gun pointing at her.

Sam and Kate kept on talking at Adam, trying to convince him to either shoot the creature or put the gun down. Adam's head went back and forth between them, the gun following him as he turned sharply each time they spoke.

"Baby, please," Kate begged, covering her mouth with a shaking hand.

"Shoot it. It's not human!" Sam urged.

Adam suddenly grew amused, sending a wink at Beth and Kate, which they returned with wide grins. Sam was immediately confused, looking between the family with narrowed eyes.

"I know," Adam said playfully before spinning around and hitting Sam roughly with the butt of the gun, knocking him out straight away. The tall male fell to the ground with a thud and Adam shared a gleeful look with Beth and Kate, smiling all the while.

* * *

Dean moved onto the next coffin, holding the flash light in one hand as he pried the lid open. He held a fist to his mouth, resisting the urge to vomit at the sight of Adam's torn apart body. The kid's eyes were open wide, pain and fear in them, his mouth parted in a silent gasp.

Fear rose in Dean. Fear for his brother. He looked around, desperately trying to find an escape route, a way out so he could go to his brother's aid, knowing that Sam was currently in the hands of monsters, probably without any weapon to aid him.

Confusion came next, his eyes taking the number of coffins in the tomb. There were only two of them, so where was Beth's body? He spun around and noticed a large hole in the far wall, he approached it cautiously, gun out.

Dean slowly climbed into the hole, following another tunnel to a smaller, more secluded area. His feet hit the ground with a thud and he turned the flash light on, shining it on the pure white coffin that lay by the wall.

He knew immediately who was in the coffin and a part of him wanted to just leave, to find Sam. But a larger part had him approaching the coffin with trepidation.

He eased the lid up and felt his eyes widen in surprise.

* * *

_She never used to be afraid of the dark, she used to love it, making up stories of monsters creeping across the room to get her but being slain by a knight in shining armour... or in her case, an angel._

_The angel she had in her mind was as tall as a tree and as bright as the sun, his pure light filling her with love and peace and warmth. He had a golden halo surrounding his head and had the most beautiful wings, at least six hundred of them. They were all covered with feathers of the purest gold, the edges tipped with white._

_She had based the angel off of what she had read about the Archangel Gabriel. He was by far her favourite... not that she knew why, after all, the angels she read about were all good and pure, but something about him drew her in and she couldn't figure out why._

_A sudden thud jolted her from her thoughts. Panic exploded within her, and she began to hyperventilate, thinking that the ghouls had come back to finally finish her off. The one that had taken on the appearance of her mother had carelessly tossed her in the coffin before she had left. She was just glad that she had managed to pull her arm to her chest before it could be shut in between the edge of the coffin and the lid._

_The lid was eased up gently, confusing her greatly; whenever the ghouls had come to her, they would torment her until she was screaming and then they would jerk the lid up and lunge. Whoever was at the other side was clearly not a ghoul- or they were and they had decided to mess with her yet again._

_She blinked rapidly against the sudden light that washed over her. A gruff voice reached her ears, but she couldn't make out what the person was saying due to the loud ringing in her ears._

_The outline of the figure reached towards her and she let out a loud, piercing scream._

* * *

"Dammit!" Dean dropped the flash light, covering his right ear and using his shoulder to cover the other one as he reached down to silence the real Beth's screams. "Beth, can it!"

Beth stopped screaming immediately, her breathing ragged from behind his hand. Her dull hazel eyes swivelled around the tomb nervously, as if waiting for a ghoul to jump out at her.

"You're bleeding..." Dean trailed off, pulling a bandanna from his pocket. He ripped it down the middle and wrapped each half around her bleeding wrists.

"W-who?" Beth desperately tried to force herself to ask, but her throat was so dry from lack of water and screaming that it hurt to even think about speaking.

"I'm Dean. Dean Winchester," he said, as if reading her mind. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

_There's no way out, _she thought at him as she tried to stop herself from shivering. In the coffin, it had at least been slightly warm, but not by much.

"Can you stand?" he questioned, reaching out to her again. She reluctantly took hold of his hands and allowed him to help her to her feet. She swayed awkwardly, falling into him as she failed to take a first step. It had been so long since she had last walked, down here in the tomb, all she could do was crawl or drag herself along on the ground as she tried to escape the ghouls. "Is there a way out?"

Beth's eyes immediately flickered to the window above where her coffin lay, Dean followed her gaze and sighed in relief. She had, of course, attempted to get out by using the window high up on the wall, but when she had reached to pull herself up, onto the narrow window ledge, she hadn't been able to smash the window as she had nothing heavy to do it with. She had tried to kick it until it smashed, but all she managed to do was crack the glass.

Fortunately for her, Dean had a gun, which he held onto tightly as he balanced himself on the coffin and fire two shots at the glass, shattering it instantly. He jumped back down and held a hand out to her.

"Come on," he urged gently. "We have to get out of here. My brother's in danger, those things have him."

That statement made her force her trembling legs to move forward, she didn't anyone else to suffer at the hands of those monsters. Dean cupped his hands together and she braced a hand against the wall, setting her dirty foot in his palms and feeling him hoist her up effortlessly, she latched onto the ledge, pulling herself onto it as Dean took hold of her ankle and helped her pull her whole body up. Fresh air hit her immediately, surrounding her in a comforting embrace, her hair swayed in the breeze and her cracked lips pulled upwards into the first smile in days.

She eagerly sucked in a few deep breaths, clawing her way out of the window and pulling herself onto the roof. Her eyes stung and she covered her face with dirty hands, blocking out the bright moonlight as she knelt on the roof of the mausoleum. Dean pulled himself up next and she reached back, tugging at his hands until he was beside her before throwing herself onto her side and curling up into a ball, weeping openly. Joy filling her as she revelled in the idea of finally being free from her cold, dark prison.

"What's up with you?" Dean demanded, brushing off his jeans. Beth pointed wordlessly up at the sky, her eyes slowly getting used to the once familiar brightness. "Oh... right. Well, come on."

_Thank you. _She wanted to say, but the words refused to unstick themselves from her throat. _For saving my life._

Dean made short work of climbing down from the roof and called for her to jump, which she did and he caught her in his arms and hurried towards the Impala. He deposited Beth in the back seat and climbed into the front, ignoring the part of him that was scolding him for allowing her in the car whilst she was covered in blood and dirt, but he shoved it aside, more worried about his brother than the seats that could be cleaned later.

* * *

"Hey!" Dean burst into the hallway and fired, shooting the ghoul pretending to be Adam and the force knocked him against the wall. The other two ghouls stared at their brother in shock.

"Dean, they're ghouls!" Sam shouted, still struggling against his restraints. Dean nodded and raised the gun, blowing Kate's head off before doing the same with ghoul that looked like Beth after pulling the locket from her neck.

The real Beth couldn't stand staying in the confinements of the Impala and clambered out, practically stumbling up to the house as she heard shots being fired. She stopped just outside of the door and peeked in nervously, seeing Dean now standing in the kitchen over a tall, dark haired male.

The ghoul looking like her twin grabbed Dean from behind, throwing him through the glass door that led to the sitting room. Beth's heart thudded in her chest, she desperately wanted to run, to put as much distance between herself and the monster in her house but she knew she couldn't leave Dean to die after he had rescued her.

She pushed the door open and slipped in noiselessly, grabbing the bat from behind the door. Before the ghoul knew what was happening, she brought the bat down on his back with shaking arms. The ghoul fell sideways in surprise, giving Dean enough time to scramble for the gun in the kitchen.

"I knew we should've killed you while we had the chance," Ghoul Adam sneered at her before lunging. The two of them fell into the hallway with a bang and she let out a quiet shriek, struggling as he snapped his teeth at her.

"D... _Dean_!" she rasped. The ghoul's mouth closed around the still open gash on her neck and sucked on the blood that welled up as he put pressure on it. She yelped in pain, frantically trying to push away both the ghoul and memories of being fed on in the tomb.

"Get off her!" Dean barked, striking the ghoul in the head with a lamp, knocking him away from Beth.

She forced herself to her feet and darted for the kitchen at Dean's command and hurried to untie the man who was obviously Dean's brother.

"B-Beth?" Sam stared at her wide eyed. She nodded jerkily and helped him sit up, pulling the ropes from his wrists and wrapping dish towels over his bleeding wounds. "How are you alive?"

"Because, Sam, I saved her before she could bleed out," Dean answered, coming into the kitchen with blood splattered hands and t-shirt.

Black spots suddenly covered Beth's vision and she swayed slightly, raising a shaking hand to her head. Dean and Sam both seemed to be speaking to her but she couldn't make out what they were saying. A ragged breath escaped as she sank to her knees and passed out, tipping over onto her side.

* * *

As Beth remained unconscious and her brothers rushed her to the hospital before going back to clear the house of evidence of the ghouls and give Adam a hunter's burial, she dreamt. She dreamed about when her and her brother came back to Windom to find their mom, and instead, became the meal and entertainment for a family of ghouls.

_"So you haven't heard anything from her?" Beth ran a shaking hand through her messy hair as she stood on the porch of Mrs Gregory's house._

_"No, I haven't," Mrs Gregory replied kindly. "I thought I heard a struggle coming from upstairs so I called the cops and they searched the house, but it was empty. They're keeping an eye out for her though, one of the other nurses also called the cops."_

_"Okay. Thanks for your time." Beth stepped off of the porch and smiled tightly._

_"It's no problem dear." Mrs Gregory waved once before closing the door._

_"What did she say?" Adam asked as she re-entered their house and kicked the door shut._

_"She heard a struggle coming from upstairs and called the cops; apparently they had already been alerted of mom's absence by her supervisor at the hospital, they searched the house but it was empty," Beth sighed wearily as she slumped onto the couch._

_"We should look ourselves," Adam muttered and yanked her up, pulling her up the stairs and into their mom's room. The night stand was still on its side with their mom's photo of John, the lamp and a few books lying a few feet away._

_"There's nothing here, Adam," she told him with a frown._

_"Look in the other rooms. There's gotta be some clue as to where she's gone," Adam ordered and she nodded, leaving the room and heading to her own room._

_Beth searched through her leftover books and magazines, searching for a note, anything that could led them to their mom. She headed to the closet after finding nothing in the pages of her small collection. As she tugged her old blanket down from the shelf in her closet, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor._

**_You'll never find her. She's dead and you're next._**

_Beth's hand shook as she stared down at the bold letters, running her fingers over the still drying ink... or what she thought was ink. When she rubbed her fingertips together, she slowly realized that it was blood and not ink._

_"A-Adam!" she yelled._

_"What?" he snapped, appearing in the doorway. Beth held the note out to him without a word, Adam took it, eyes skimming over the words quickly. "Where did you find this?"_

_"In my closet, on the shelf." Her lip trembled and her eyes watered. Adam pulled her into his side, scrunching the note up and throwing it on the floor. "She's dead... isn't she?"_

_"No. No, she can't be," Adam shook his head and turned, preparing on herding her out of the room when his eyes landed on two figures standing in the hallway. "Beth, get behind me."_

_Beth did as she was told, stepping behind him, which placed her beside her closet and she slowly reached in and grabbed the bat she'd taken from her brother years earlier._

_"Here," she whispered. Adam reached out to take it at the same moment that the figures in the hall lunged, tackling them to the ground._

_Beth yelped, struggling against the deformed being that latched on to her legs and began dragging her back towards her mom's room. Adam was in the same position, trying to fight off the creature as it snapped at his throat with razor sharp teeth._

_"Adam!" Beth screamed, before everything went silent._


	5. Ohana means family

_**'Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.'**_

_**\- Lilo and Stitch.**_

* * *

_**April 25th 2009**_

_**Windom, Minnesota**_

Dean sat beside a motionless Beth, watching as she inhaled and exhaled harshly around the oxygen tube that had been stuck down her throat. He rubbed at his mouth and chin roughly and sighed as her fingers twitched yet again, her nails brushing against the back of his hand.

Beth had been unconscious for three days and in that time the doctors had carefully inserted an IV drip into the vein in the crook of her elbow, Sam and Dean had been forced to wait in the cafeteria as the doctors and nurses worked on stitching up each of her wounds, their confusion obvious at the human bite marks on her side and shoulder. The cut on her neck had been cleaned and covered with gauze when decided that it wouldn't require stitches, the rest of her wounds -however- did.

Sam had gone back to the motel about two hours ago on Dean's orders to get some sleep, because apparently staying up for three nights in a row only affected Sam and not his brother. He'd gone willingly though, eager to get a shower and a bite to eat... and to get away from the sound of his half-sister's ragged breathing and the fact that he'd let down another person because he hadn't been able to discover what the ghouls actually were until the last minute. And now Beth lay in hospital, encased in numerous bandages with ghostly white skin and dark bruises littering her face and Adam was dead, he was now nothing more than a pile of ash whilst what remained of their mom lay on a cold slab in the morgue.

"Beth, you need to wake up," Dean coaxed as he hesitantly squeezed her hand, his calloused fingers surrounding her slender ones, "now's not the time for taking a nap."

The blonde nurse—Elena—stood behind him, smiled sadly and patted his shoulder sympathetically as she read Beth's chart before replacing the almost empty IV bag with a new, full one and left the room to give him privacy.

"I'm serious princess, you need to get your lazy ass up."

"Like she's gonna respond to that," Sam said from the doorway, making Dean jerk his head up in surprise.

"You never know," Dean replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"She'll wake up when she's ready." Sam dropped into the empty chair beside his brother and pushed a wet strand of hair from his face.

"Who knows when that will be," Dean mumbled. He pushed himself to feet and headed for the door, glancing back only once to tell Sam that he was going to get some coffee and would return later, unaware of what was going on in his half-sister's head.

* * *

_Beth's eyes snapped open, hazel orbs trailing over the bright white ceiling curiously as she attempted to recall the last thing that had happened to her, only to come up blank. She slowly pushed herself up onto her elbows, realising she was lying on a vintage, deep blue, velvet chaise longue with a cushion placed gently beneath her hair._

_"...Hello?" she called, surprised at how melodic her voice sounded. She climbed to her feet, eyes widening at the ankle length, burgundy dress she wore; the bodice and the skirt was covered in sequins, and it had thick, spaghetti straps and an open back that stretched down to the middle of her spine._

_"Ah, little dove. It's nice to see you up and about." The sudden voice had her jumping in surprise, the burgundy skirt whirling around her ankles and showing off her bare feet._

_"Let me guess, Gabe sent you?" she questioned, resting her hands on her hips._

_"Who else?" he raised his hands in a 'you got me' gesture. He smirked widely as he conjured two glasses of whisky from the bar in the corner of the room and held one out to her._

_"Thank you." She accepted the glass without a second thought and gulped down the liquid, wincing at the burn in her throat._

_"How have you been, my little dove?" the tanned male set his glass down and wrapped his arms around her from behind, surrounding her with his unnatural warmth._

_"Well, my mom and my brother were torn apart by _ghouls _and I was made to watch," she answered sarcastically. She tossed the glass into the air, watching as it spiralled towards the ground and disappeared before it could shatter. She huddled back into his chest as the cool air caused goose-bumps to appear on her arms._

_"Yes, I heard about that. How unfortunate," he said, not unkindly. Beth turned her head to meet his eyes and frowned curiously._

_"How did you know?" He set his chin on her shoulder and smirked widely at her. Beth sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to answer her and rested her forehead against his temple. "I guess it's just another thing I don't need to know?"_

_"You got that right," he returned as he tightened his grip on her. If it had been any other man, she would've been struggling to get out of their hold but she'd know him just as long as Gabe and she trusted them both with her life._

_"Do I have to wake up?" Her eyes flickered to the ceiling-to-floor glass walls and watched the waves crashing down onto the shore below. "I want to stay here forever."_

_"I know you do," he said softly, "but you have people waiting for you."_

_Beth turned around in his hold and put her hands on his chest. "I don't want to go back. You and Gabe are the only ones I have left."_

_"We both know that's not true," he murmured, "you have those two apes."_

_"But I don't know them," she argued immediately. She closed her eyes and tried to stop herself from crying. "I don't need them."_

_"Yes you do... more than you know." He stroked a finger down her cheek, catching the tear that escaped._

_"I'm gonna miss you," she admitted._

_"It's not like you'll never see me again." He cupped her face in his large hands. "But it's time to wake up."_

_"Please... please don't make me go," she begged and gripped his shirt tightly in her hands._

_His lips twitched sadly, clearly torn between giving in and letting her stay and forcing her to wake up. Eventually, the latter won and he drew her in, pressing a kiss to her lips._

_"Wake up."_

* * *

Beth's eyes snapped open and a loud gasp escaped, filling the previously quiet room. Dean shot up at the noise and turned to his youngest sibling, he took a hesitant step towards her.

"B-Beth?"

Beth let out a strangled breath and began tugging at the oxygen tube in her throat. Dean lurched forward and grabbed her hands tightly, preventing her from hurting herself as he called for a nurse.

"Beth, I need you to calm down," Nurse Elena told the brunette. Elena turned to Dean and gestured him to come back over. "Can you calm her down?"

"Uh, okay... sure," Dean cleared his throat and took hold of Beth's hand again. "Beth. I need you to _calm_ down, the nurse needs to get the tube out."

Beth's hazel orbs locked on him and she seemed to recognise him after a few moments. Her hands shook in his as she nodded jerkily and let out another gasp. Nurse Elena smiled in satisfaction and gently eased the tube out, replacing it with an oxygen mask.

"Thank you," Dean told the nurse.

"It's no problem, Dean." Elena patted his shoulder and left the room to inform the doctor that Beth was awake.

"D... Dean?" Beth winced at the ache in her throat. She glanced down in surprise as her fingers tightened around his when he attempted to pull away.

"Hey princess." Dean ruffled her hair gently, mindful of the bruises on her face.

"Can I have some water?" she asked slowly.

Dean filled a glass from the unit beside her bed with water and handed it to her, watching as she raised it to her lips with a weak, shaking hand and took a small sip, followed quickly by a large gulp and she finished the glass in seconds flat.

"Wow, easy," Dean said, helping her into a sitting position as she began to cough roughly.

"W... where's your brother?" she asked the moment her coughing fit ended.

"He's around," Dean answered vaguely.

Beth nodded in acceptance, eyes roaming around the room, taking in the sterilised hospital equipment, the medium sized TV on the far wall and the thin but comfortable bed she lay in.

"What... what about my mom? A-and Adam?" she asked, painfully aware of the pitying look Dean gave her. "They... they're really dead."

"I'm sorry," Dean offered but she shook her head.

"I-it's not your fault," she said.

Beth pulled the blankets tighter around her body and rolled over to face the window, her back to Dean. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried in vain to control the sobs that tore up her throat and shook her body. Dean hovered in the background, unsure what he should do, if he should comfort her or leave to give her space. The first option eventually won and he set a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. He didn't struggle as she reached back and pulled his hand to her, encasing it with both of hers and holding it tightly for comfort.

"It's okay. I'm not going anywhere," he promised, it was the least he could do, after all, her family was dead and though she didn't know it, Dean and Sam were all she had left. "We won't forget about you," he whispered lowly so she wouldn't hear him, he just hoped she would be able to forgive them for leaving her so soon after her mom and twin had died.


	6. A new beginning

_**'It's not the goodbye that hurts, but the flashbacks that follow.' **_

_**\- Unknown**_

* * *

_"Adam!" Beth called, chasing after her twin._

_It was two weeks after they had turned 7 and the two of them were playing tag in the back yard. Beth was the catcher once again, simply because Adam was faster and always caught her quickly, meaning the game ended sooner than they would both like._

_"You can't catch me!" Adam yelled back, grinning as he darted around a large oak tree. Beth let out a tired whine as she followed his footsteps, circling the tree with as much speed as she could muster._

_"You're not playing fair! You know I can't run as fast as you!"_

_"That's exactly why you're the catcher; because you can't catch me as easily as I can catch you." _

_"You suck!" Beth insulted, though she couldn't restrain the smile that spread across her face as he tripped over his shoe lace, and landed heavily on the ground. _

_She rushed over and pounced, knocking him back to the ground as he attempted to get up. She sat on his back and beamed proudly._

_"I win."_

_"Yeah_—_this time," Adam snorted and tried to shove her off. "Don't think it'll happen again, loser."_

* * *

"Hi Sam," Beth greeted quietly, pulled from her flashback as the tall man walked into her room.

"Hey, Beth." Sam took the seat by her bed and handed the jug of pineapple juice to her as she reached for it. "What'd the doctors say?"

"I'm getting released this afternoon. They said I'll have to apply antiseptic ointment to my cuts every morning and night for a couple weeks."

"That's good news," Sam told her with a silly face, attempting to encourage her to smile. He succeed, but only because she thought he was an idiot.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do," she whispered. Her eyes lowering and gazing intently at the fluffy grey blanket Dean had taken from her house at her request. "I can't go back to that house."

"Do you have any other relatives you can stay with?" he asked gently, pity on his face.

"I have some cousins in Montauk," she answered thoughtfully, "but I doubt they'll welcome me there."

"Why'd you say that?" Dean asked from the doorway.

"Mom's brother—my uncle, he… he didn't exactly approve of the fact that mom had me and Adam out of wedlock," she explained. Shivers ran down her spine at the thought of her tough, intimidating uncle who made her freeze whenever he so much as looked at her. "And he made sure we all knew it."

Sam frowned at that, turning his eyes onto Dean, who seemed to see something in his baby brother's eyes that immediately had him shaking his head in disagreement. Sam ignored him, returning to his previous position.

"Beth, we, uh… we have something we need to tell you."

"Sammy, no," Dean warned softly. Beth glanced between them in confusion.

"What is it?"

"We're your brothers," Sam admitted. He paid no attention to Dean as he exhaled harshly and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "John Winchester was our father too."

* * *

**(15 minutes later)**

Beth continued to stare out of the window, her eyes locked on the rain that continued to fall without stopping. Dean and Sam shared an equally concerned look before their gazes were drawn back to Beth as she roughly dragged a hand through her messy hair.

"Why didn't you tell me? Before; when I first woke up—you could've told me." She sent an accusing look at Dean. He simply raised an eyebrow in response, not willing to enter into a fight with her.

"We didn't think you'd believe us," Sam admitted, and he shrugged.

"Y-you didn't think I'd _believe_ you?" she asked incredulously. "I was kidnapped by ghouls and then forced to watch as they tore my family apart. I think I'd believe anything right now."

"Oh really?" Dean said sarcastically. "I doubt it princess. You don't know jack squat about what's really out there and you certainly wouldn't believe us."

Beth stared at him in shock, wondering why he gone from being incredibly kind to her to treating her like she was something disgusting on the bottom of his shoe.

"What the hell is your problem?" she demanded as she pushed herself up against the pillows behind her.

"If you _really _knew what was out there, you would be hiding under your bed," Dean answered sharply. "There are worse things out there than ghouls. Those three creeps were just the beginning of a long list of monsters."

"Like what?" she challenged, raising her head and sticking her chin out defiantly.

"You really wanna know?" Dean's eyebrow rose in disbelief but he acquiesced without protest. "There are demons, werewolves, vampires, witches, tricksters, angels…"

"Wait, _angels_?" she barked in amusement. "Why are angels on your list of _bad guys_?"

"Because they're emotionless dicks who follow orders without question," Dean said dismissively. "Especially the couple we've seen in the last few weeks."

"You've met angels?" She looked to Sam with wide, excited eyes.

"Three of them actually," Sam smiled at her amazement. "Only two of them were decent though."

"What are their names?" She ignored Dean's disgruntled look in favour of shifting closer to Sam.

"Castiel, Uriel and Anna," he replied. "Or as she was once known as; Anael."

"So you've met the angel of Thursday, an archangel and the angel of love?" Beth nodded slowly. "That is _so _cool."

"You are one weird kid," Dean scoffed and sat back in his chair, not even bothering to tell her that Uriel wasn't actually an archangel, that the books had gotten it wrong.

"Whatever." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"We should go back to the motel," Sam said to Dean as he stood up.

"Good idea. I need to pick up some pie," Dean agreed and headed out the door.

"When will you be back?" Beth asked hesitantly.

"We'll come back this afternoon to pick you up," Sam assured her, squeezing her shoulder gently. Beth set her hand over his, holding it tightly.

"Thanks Sam."

"I'll see you later, _princess_," he teased, using Dean's nickname for her.

"Get outta here!" she laughed and tossed a pillow at him.

Sam chuckled and set the pillow back on the bed before leaving, waving once as he disappeared out the door. Beth smiled as she leaned back and closed her eyes, feeling rather tired. She was out like a light, breathing softly as she slowly began dreaming about the happy memories she had with her mom and twin.

* * *

Beth was jerked awake by a hand shaking her shoulder roughly. She opened her eyes slowly and turned her head to the right, her gaze landing on a reasonably tall woman with deep red hair and wide hazel eyes that were a shade darker than her own.

"Who the hell are you?" Beth demanded, before reaching out for the call button next to her. The stranger grasped her wrist tightly, preventing her from calling for a nurse.

"You won't be needing that—I won't hurt you."

"Look lady, I won't ask again, you better give a name _now_."

"Anna. My name is Anna," the red head answered with an amused raising of her eyebrows.

"…You're the angel Sam and Dean protected," Beth said in realization. She released her hold on the call button and Anna finally removed her hand from Beth's wrist.

"That I am."

"Why are you in my room?"

"I need you to come with me," Anna explained simply as she headed to the window and peeked out of the closed blinds.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because you're in danger and I can't let them take you."

"I'm in_ danger_?" Beth asked dubiously. "From who?"

"I can't tell you… not right now, anyway." Anna turned back to her, allowing a gentle smile to cross her face. "Will you come with me willingly?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Beth countered. Anna shook her head.

"You do not. But I would prefer it if you were willing."

"What about Sam and Dean? What will I tell them?"

"It's better if you don't tell them anything, they'll be safer if they have no knowledge of your whereabouts," Anna replied and she watched as Beth jumped as a pile of clothes appeared on her lap.

"I'll just go get dressed." Beth shrugged and removed the wires that attached her to the heart monitor. She shoved her blanket aside and slowly slipped out of the bed, feeling the bandaged gash on her stomach ache at the movement, she held a hand against the wound, using her other hand to cradle the clothes to her chest as she shuffled to the bathroom and closed the door quietly.

Anna waited patiently, sitting in a chair and watching the doorway with intense eyes as doctors and nurses walked by every couple of seconds. Beth reappeared about five minutes later, wearing a deep blue coloured tank top, a loose grey coloured sweater, a pair of boot cut jeans and her doc martens. A dark grey jacket covered the sweater she wore.

"I'm ready," Beth said as she grabbed her locket, clasping it around her neck and taking her fluffy blanket into her arms. "Can we stop past my house first? I need clothes and stuff if I'm to be accompanying you on a road trip."

"Sure," Anna set a hand on Beth's shoulders and led her out of the room, stopping at the reception desk to get the human discharged. As soon as Beth had signed the discharge papers, they left the hospital and Anna guided her to a nearby alleyway before teleporting away from the hospital, leaving the sound of fluttering wings behind.

* * *

Sam led the way through the corridors, a cup of pineapple juice in one hand and a bag of Beth's clothes and various belongings in the other. Dean followed after him, winking at a dark haired nurse with stormy grey eyes as he passed her.

"Uh, Dean," Sam said as he reached Beth's hospital room.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Beth—she's not here," Sam answered, eyes flickering around the empty room in surprise.

"What d'you mean she's not here?" Dean demanded, barging past Sam. "Where the hell is she?"

"Maybe a nurse has seen her," Sam suggested and left the room, Dean hot on his heels as he headed for the reception desk. "Excuse me?"

The middle aged receptionist looked up and smiled politely, recognising them from when they would come in to visit one of the patients. "How can I help you, boys?"

"Have you seen Beth Milligan?" Dean questioned, leaning against the desk. "She's not in her room."

"The patient from room 506?" she asked and began searching through a pile of files when they nodded in unison. "…It says she was discharged about an hour ago."

"What—a doctor discharged her?"

"No. She discharged herself," the blonde woman replied. "Her and her friend seemed in a hurry when they left."

"Her friend?" Sam repeated, glancing at Dean. "What friend?"

"Um… I'm not actually sure. I'll get Nurse Stevens; she was the one to discharge her." The woman left quickly, striding down the corridor and disappearing around the corner.

"She left with a _friend_?" Dean turned to Sam, his expression suspicious. "And never bothered calling to tell us?"

"It does seem odd, she never mentioned that a friend would be coming to get her," Sam frowned. "Especially when she knew we were gonna pick her up."

"Dean," Nurse Stevens—Elena—smiled deeply at the sight of the dark blonde male. "I'm told you need some information. What can I help you with?"

"You discharged Beth, right?" Dean asked immediately.

"Yeah, I did, at about one o'clock," Elena replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The receptionist said she was with someone, what did the person look like?" Sam input.

"Well, it was a woman, a couple of years older than Beth, I think," Elena recalled, guiding them towards the chairs lined up against the wall so they weren't in the way. "She had deep red hair and hazel eyes."

"What was she wearing?"

"Uh… a white blouse and a pair of boot cut jeans and a green jacket." Elena looked between the two males with narrowed eyes. "Why are you asking?"

"…Beth failed to mention that a _friend _would be picking her up," Sam explained.

"You think she was being forced to leave?" Elena asked. "Because the red head looked strong, but not that strong. Even against an injured Beth."

"We don't know what to think," Dean admitted with a shrug. "We just wanna find Beth."

"If it helps, I did hear Beth tell the other woman that she wanted to go back to her house—to get clothes and such," Elena offered as she stood up. "I think I heard her mention something about a road trip."

"Thanks for your time," Sam said genuinely before she walked off.

"Looks like we're going back to the house," Dean decided. He stormed off towards the door and Sam was quick to follow.

* * *

"This is a nice place," Anna admitted, walking back into Beth's room.

"Thank you," Beth replied quietly. She sent one glance at Anna before going back to packing.

"I, uh, I heard what happened to your mom and brother—I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault."

"If I could bring them back, I would," Anna said honestly.

"I don't want you to," Beth answered immediately.

"Why not?" Anna frowned, folding another shirt and placing it in the duffel bag.

"Because as much as I want them back, I know they're in heaven," Beth exhaled deeply. "Why would I want to bring them back? Why would I allow my selfish need to be around them again control me? I know that where they are now, it's… it's a better place than earth. I know they're happy up there and I would only cause pain on them—and myself—if I were to destroy that happiness."

Anna was silent, taking in her words with surprised eyes. "You… are a very selfless person," she said finally. "Most people would want a loved one back, no matter what."

"I'm not selfless," Beth scoffed, zipping up the bag. "I just lay there, sobbing while my family were torn apart—I did nothing to save them. So don't call me selfless."

"It wasn't your fault," Anna told her gently, resting her hand on the brunette's shoulder.

Beth's lips twitched into a sad, half smile at the angel's words and she shook her head, picking the bag up with one hand and reaching out for her photo album of her, Adam, her mom and her dad and cradling it to her chest.

"Let's go."

Anna pursed her lips but nodded, taking a hold of her shoulder and teleporting them from the house just as Sam and Dean picked the lock on the front door and hurried inside, closing it behind them.

The two of them were unaware that they were already too late and Beth was gone.


	7. First Encounters

_**Atlanta, Georgia**_

_**May 2nd, 2009**_

Beth stumbled after Anna, wiping the sleep from her eyes as the red head led her down the empty road in the direction of a deserted gas station. The two of them had decided to take Beth and Adam's truck so Beth would be able to catch some sleep on their road trip… and because Beth wasn't that fond of teleporting—it left her feeling dizzy and nauseas afterwards. It was just their luck that the truck had decided to run out of gas, in the middle of nowhere.

"Slow down," Beth whined, struggling to keep up with the angel's fast pace.

"You should hurry up," Anna countered without pause, "the longer we're out in the open, the more likely we are to be attacked."

"By what? There's nothing around for miles," Beth argued as she finally caught up to her companion.

"That doesn't matter, they can find us no matter where we are."

"Who? Your brothers and sisters?" she asked mockingly, receiving a glare from Anna before she trekked across the road and towards the station.

"And more." Anna pushed the door open and stepped inside, heading straight to the counter as Beth went to the right, eyeing the products on the shelves curiously.

As Anna spoke to the man behind the counter, Beth opened the fridge at the back of the station and pulled out a bottle of water. Beth turned around and was about to walk back over to Anna when another two men walked in, locking the door behind them. She let out a strangled gasp as their eyes flickered a pitch black, the colour standing out against their tanned skin.

"Anna!" Beth cried out, and the red head spun around, dodging to the side to avoid being stabbed by a shiny silver blade.

"They're demons!" Anna shouted, jumping away from the black eyed men and helping the station owner duck under the counter.

Beth' eyes widened in fear as the taller of the two turned on her, charging at her and sending her flying back into the fridge, the glass smashed under her weight, and the shelves fell down, sending water bottles rolling across the floor.

"Let go of me!" she screamed as he grabbed her by the collar of her blouse and tossed her aside, she collided with the wall, hitting her still bruised face against the wall.

"Beth!" Anna threw herself at the other demon, pulling out her angel blade and raising it to stab him. She plunged it into his chest and watched as his skeleton flickered with light before extinguishing as he fell to the floor.

In the next few seconds, the small station was swarming with at least ten demons, half going for Anna, some going for the human man under the counter and the rest going after Beth. Anna was doing well at holding her own, seeing as she had been raised to be a soldier and knew exactly how to fight, Beth however, had no experience in fighting, she tended to stay away from fights and so she simply cowered away from the demons, trying to fend them off with a piece of broken glass.

Anna suddenly cried out in pain, holding a hand against her side as blood and grace seeped out of it. Beth scrambled to her feet, not even thinking as she shoved her way through the crowd of men, and brought the long shard of glass down on the back of the tall woman towering over her friend. The woman shrieked and her body jerked, slumping to the floor as she clutched at her back.

"Give me your blade-thingy!" Beth ordered and Anna hesitated before weakling holding it out to her. She took it and spun around, holding it in front of her pathetically.

"You can't win against us, kiddo," a female with wavy brown hair said, smirking at her. "You'll die trying."

"Then I'll die trying," she replied and threw herself forward without hesitation, swinging left and right with the blade, stabbing and slicing clumsy as she made her way through the group. Anna joined her moments later, using her grace to smite the demons in bursts of bright, bluish-white light.

Beth's eyes widened in pain as a hand closed around her wrist and yanked it back, the sound of bones snapping filled the air, followed promptly by her agonized screams. She fell to her knees, her hand still in the woman's vice tight grasp. The brunette winked at Beth teasingly as she ripped the angel blade from her hand and tossed it across the room. She grabbed Beth and yanked her up before throwing her across the station and through the door.

Beth landed heavily on her back, surrounded by pieces of broken glass and wood. Her body felt numb, along with her mind as she lay there, the sun beating down on her face.

"Oh, come on princess," the brunette pouted down at her, "don't tell me that that's all you've got… I expected more from a Winchester."

"Screw you," Beth gasped as she was yanked into a sitting position by the lapels of her jacket.

"Maybe another time, sugar." The brunette brought her fist down on Beth's face and her head snapped to the side. A dazed look crossed Beth's face as she tried to black spots from her vision. Just as the demon woman was about to bring her fist down on Beth again, a piece of glass was shoved into her back, the tip sticking out of her stomach. She screamed loudly, her body curling in on itself before she vanished into thin air.

"T-thanks," Beth breathed, staring up at Anna's face with a weak smile.

"We have to go—there are angels coming." Anna attempted to pull Beth to her feet, but Beth cried out, struggling against her friend. "Beth… your back…"

"What?" Beth demanded, tears springing to her eyes as pain erupted in her back and shoulders.

"There's glass and wood stuck in it," Anna whispered. She pulled her arm back to reveal a blood stained hand. "I need to get it out."

"You don't have time," Beth argued and got Anna to help her to her feet. The red head supported her weight as they stumbled back towards the station. "You need to get out of here, and take that man with you, just get away from here."

"Why do you seem to think I'm gonna leave you behind?" Anna questioned as she propped Beth against the doorframe, before the brunette slid down into a sitting position.

"B-because Sam told me that the angels want you dead—I'll hold them off, but you need to get away from here."

Anna looked torn, glancing between the injured teenage girl and the unconscious man in front of the counter. "I'll return as soon as they're gone."

"You better, loser," Beth laughed weakly.

Anna joined in on the laughing for a few minutes before approaching the middle-aged man and lifting him up, slinging his arm around her shoulders. She looked back towards Beth, sharing a mutual look of understanding.

"See ya soon, Ariel." She saluted her friend. Anna nodded and disappeared, just as the sound of two pairs of wings filled the air.

* * *

"They're all dead," a male voice stated from inside the station.

"No shit, Sherlock," Beth called weakly. A second later, two men appeared, towering over her.

"Bethany Milligan." Beth looked up, taking in the tousled, dark brown haired male. He was wearing a suit and a beige trench-coat, his deep blue tie was back to front. Her gaze moved to his face and she was met with a pair of the bluest eyes she had ever seen. They were beautiful.

"It's just Beth," she corrected, shifting slightly. Her face clouded with pain as one of the numerous piece of glass dug into her back. "Who are you?"

"I'm Castiel, I'm an-"

"You're an angel of the lord," she interrupted, deepening her voice to imitate his. "They told me you would say that if I met you."

"How did those demons die?" Castiel questioned as he crouched beside her.

"I totally kicked their asses," she lied with a wide grin. "It was awesome."

She was being truthful, to an extent, she had gotten two of them, and Anna had gotten the others. She turned her head away and looked at the other male, he had light brown hair and blue eyes that were a shade lighter than Castiel's.

"Who is he?"

"Samandriel," Castiel said, his gravelly voice drifting over her.

"Well, s'nice to meet you," she slurred, her lips as pale as her face.

"What is wrong with her?" The younger looking one—Samandriel—peered at her curiously.

"One of them threw me through the door," she explained and struggled to sit forward to show them the bloody mess that was her back.

Castiel held a hand over her back and a glowing light shone from it. Warmth washed over her back, seeping into her skin and filling her entire being.

"The hell was that?" she asked in awe as the scratches on her arms and hands—the wounds she'd received from the ghouls—disappeared before her very eyes. It was almost as if they'd never been there in the first place. The pain from her head and back vanished too, leaving no trace that she'd been attacked.

"I healed you," Castiel explained and stood up. Beth scrambled to her feet, rubbing her bare arms as a cool breeze surrounded them.

"Why?"

"Because it was an order," he answered. He tilted his head to the side, assessing her through narrowed eyes.

Beth quickly grew uncomfortable with his staring and turned her back on him, heading back into the gas station and picking up a bottle of water. She uncapped it and started gulping down the cool liquid.

"Did no one tell you it's rude to stare?" she demanded as she spun around to face them, annoyance clear on her face.

"I have heard of that saying before," Castiel agreed. He stepped through the door, Samandriel following after him and glass cracked beneath their feet as they stopped. "Though I don't understand why it would be considered rude if you're staring to figure someone out."

Beth gazed at him, a vacant look on her face. "You are _so _weird."

"Is… is that a compliment?" Samandriel asked in confusion. Beth's eyes flickered to him before she moved away from them. She grabbed a plastic carrier bag from under the counter and filled it with a couple of water bottles and some candy bars.

"Are you planning on stealing those items?"

"No, I'm gonna eat the candy bars and then put them back," Beth retorted sarcastically. At their clueless looks, she frowned. "I'm not a_ thief, _I'll leave some money under the register." She pulled some notes out of her pocket and slipped it under the corner of the cash register. "_Pft, _some people just can't take a joke."

"Are you finished?" Beth nodded before stopping. She turned to them slowly.

"Why do you want to know?"

"We are supposed to take you back to your brothers," Samandriel explained with a smile.

"Hell no, I am not going anywhere without—" Beth was cut off as two warm fingers were placed against her forehead and she suddenly found herself standing in the middle of a medium sized motel room, swaying slightly from the sudden shock of teleporting.

"_Beth_?"

"Oh… hey?" She smiled nervously at the two men staring at her in shock.

* * *

"So… explain it again," Dean ordered, perched on the end of his bed.

"I've told you _three times _already," Beth grumbled, sprawled out on the couch.

"Just humour him," Sam sighed. He had stopped listening when she told them what had happened the second time around.

"_Fine_. I was woken up by Anna in my hospital room and she told me I needed to go with her, and that she had to protect me because I was danger and she couldn't let someone or other take me." Beth stretched her legs out in the air, holding them there as she turned her head and grinned at Dean. "We stopped at a gas station in Atlanta, where we were attacked and then Anna took the owner of the station away and I met Castiel and Samandriel and then Cas healed me and sent me back here."

"Okay, maybe one more time—" Dean cut off with a laugh as Beth threw her boot at him.

"You're an ass!" Beth stretched her neck in her other brother's direction. "Sam! Dean's an ass!"

"I know—I deal with him every day," Sam snorted. He sent a wink at Beth, who chuckled in response.

"Hey! I'm a joy to be around," Dean argued.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Beth put her legs down before raising her arms. She let out a moan of discomfort as Dean suddenly grasped her arm, pulling it towards him roughly. "What are you _doing_?"

"Your arms—they're completely healed."

"Oh yeah, Cas did it." She shrugged the best she could whilst lying down. "Perks of being an angel I guess."

"Hey Beth, what did you think of him?" Sam asked curiously.

"Well… he seemed nice. A little clueless about sarcasm and all that but he was nice," she answered. "Nothing like what Dean described him to be like."

"He was an ass—he would've killed Anna without blinking, even though she's his sister."

Beth sat up and turned to look at him. "Dean… you do know that angels are warriors of God? They follow orders without question because that's how they were made. They're not like us, they don't understand emotions the way we do."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I used to love reading about angels and God," she admitted reluctantly. "In some books they're depicted as fluffy, cloud hopping, harp players and in Anna's words 'angels have no free will. They're cold, hard like a statue, they do what they're told and don't question it.'"

Dean pursed his lips but nodded his head, seemingly accepting her words, even though he clearly wanted to say something in response to it but decided not to when she let out a long yawn and her head hit the cushion with a light smack.

"I'm so tired," she whined lowly.

"Then get some sleep," Dean countered.

"Okay boss." She saluted at him and rolled over onto her side, her back to the other occupants of the room. She was asleep within minutes, the day's events finally catching up to her.

Sam and Dean had no idea that Beth had killed two beings that afternoon and she didn't know what she was supposed to do about it or if she should tell her brothers. One thing was for certain, she knew that she wouldn't be getting over it any time soon.

What she had done would live with her for years to come.


	8. The Rapture

**_'I'm coming home, _**

**_From all the places, I have been,_**

**_With nothing, but a voice within,_**

**_That calls me... Calls me home.'_**

**_\- Calls me home, Shannon LaBrie._**

* * *

_**Windom, Minnesota**_

_**May 3**__**rd**__**, 2009**_

After Beth had told Dean and Sam what her and Anna had gotten up to and had gotten some sleep, she'd decided to go back to her house, wanting to see it one last time before she left with her new brothers. She didn't expect Dean to go nuts though, and drag her back to the motel room they'd been staying in for days, calling her stupid and reckless and out—of—her—mind. She let him get it out of his system before telling him that if he'd just phoned her this could all have been avoided and he wouldn't have been overreacting. After telling him this, she took the empty bed by the door and went about ignoring him, drifting off to sleep.

Beth let out a whine, slapping at Dean's hand as he tried to push her out of the bed. Apparently he'd had a dream about Castiel and the trench coat clad angel had told him to meet him at some address, and Dean had spent the last ten minutes trying to force Beth to get up but she was unwilling and just as stubborn as could be.

"Go without me," she moaned, burrowing under the warmth of the comforter. "I'll be fine."

"One, we're not leaving you behind—who knows what sort of trouble you'd get yourself into," Dean held up one finger before raising another, "and two, you're wasting time, Castiel could be in trouble and instead of being out of the road going to the location he gave, I'm stuck here trying to get your lazy ass out of bed."

"_Ugh_, fine." She pushed the comforter back—shivering as the cold air attacked her bare legs—and dragged herself out of the bed, grabbing her clothes and heading for the bathroom.

"Who knew that having a sister could be such hard work?" Dean said to Sam. His younger brother chuckled in response as he continued to pack away the rest of his belongings. "She's a spoilt brat."

"I heard that!" Beth yelled from the bathroom.

"You were meant to, princess," Dean called back.

Five minutes later, Beth exited the bathroom, slipping her night shirt and shorts into her bag and pulling her shoes on. She tugged her hair up into messy bun before following them out the door and across the lot towards the Impala.

* * *

A few hours later, the trio had arrived at an abandoned factory just outside of Windom. Dean and Sam stood around the trunk and grabbed a shotgun each and a flash light. Sam took an extra flash light out and passed it to Beth, who thanked him quietly.

"I don't like this place," she whispered, following them down a cold, wet corridor. She kept her flash light pointed at the ground to make sure she wouldn't trip over anything.

"Suck it up, princess."

"What did he say Dean? What was so important?" Sam asked curiously.

"If I knew, would I be here?"

Beth jumped as something sparked above her head as she made her way up the metal staircase. The scene in front of her was shocking, it looked as though something had exploded, sending a variety of pipes and other junk in all directions.

"It looks like a bomb went off," she whispered to Sam. He nodded his agreement.

"There was a fight here," Dean concluded, walking ahead of them.

"Between who?"

"Hey, check it out." Dean pointed towards a large, red drawing on the wall behind them.

"The hell is that?" Beth demanded.

"It's a sigil, like the one Anna used to banish Cas and that other one," Sam explained.

"Why is it here then? W-was Castiel fighting other angels or something?"

"I dunno, looks like it," Dean said.

Beth walked a few steps ahead of them, catching sight of a figure in the corner of her vision. She turned towards it, and recognized the man immediately. Dropping her flash light, she sprinted towards him, dropping to her knees and shaking him.

"Cas?" she called, patting his cheek. "Castiel?"

Dean jerked her backwards just as Cas shot up and nearly head butted her. She pulled away from Dean and crouched down to steady a confused Castiel.

"Wha-what's going on?" he questioned, looking at her.

"Hey, it's okay. Calm down," she soothed as he glanced around wildly before pushing himself to his feet.

"No!" His eyes flickered around almost nervously, causing Beth to stare at him in confusion, the angel she'd met wasn't nervous at all and the way he held himself was tall and fierce, as though he was welcoming anyone who might be a threat to take a swing and see who came out on top. He was nothing like this guy, whose voice was slightly higher, his eyes not as blue and seemed to express his emotions more willingly, more freely.

"Are you all right, Cas?" Sam asked, concerned.

"Castiel?" the man repeated. "I'm not Castiel. It's me."

"Who's me?" Sam demanded.

"Jimmy… my name's Jimmy." Jimmy glanced behind him, as if wondering how he'd gotten there.

"Where the hell is Castiel?" Dean asked gruffly. Beth rose to her feet, standing close to her brothers as she eyed the stranger warily.

"I… he's gone," Jimmy explained. He look between the three of them curiously, his gaze lingering on Beth.

"What do you mean 'he's gone'?" Beth's eyes were wide, filled with confusion. "Who is this guy? Why's he saying Cas is gone?"

"You don't know," Jimmy realized. Beth frowned at him, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

"Know what?"

"Enough chit-chat, we need to get to the car, now." Dean grabbed Beth's arm, pulling her away from Jimmy and back towards the stairs with Sam following quickly and Jimmy much more hesitantly.

* * *

"So, are you gonna tell me who the hell you are?" Beth questioned. She was stuck in the back seat with 'Jimmy' while Sam and Dean stopped at a diner to pick up some food for all of them.

"In order for angels to walk on earth, they need to have a vessel," Jimmy explained. "A human willing to cart them around."

"You're Cas' vessel, aren't you?" Jimmy nodded, rubbing his stomach as it rumbled loudly. Beth reached into her messenger bag and pulled out the Hershey bar she had and handed it to him.

"No, I can't take this," he declined and attempted to hand it back.

"Hey, you need it more than I do." She pushed his hands back towards his chest and smiled.

"Thank you," he said before proceeding to devour the chocolate bar in two bites.

"How does it work?" she asked and then clarified, "Being a vessel, I mean."

"Castiel put me through a series of tests in order to check my faith," Jimmy explained lightly. "When he was sure I was ready, he asked me if I was willing to serve the Lord by being his vessel on earth. I said yes and then this bright light filled the air and I was shoved to the back of my mind."

"That sounds… intense," Beth breathed in surprise. "W-what was it like?"

"Intense is putting it lightly." Jimmy turned slightly to face her. She stared back at him, pity flitting across her face. "It felt as though I was strapped to a comet and there was no escape. It's a horrible feeling––being shoved aside and having no control over your actions or words."

"I'm sorry," she told him genuinely. "Do you remember anything whilst you were a vessel?"

"I remember one thing, actually," he admitted.

"What?"

"Cas was very intrigued by you," he explained. Beth's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline.

"Me? Why?"

"He thought your strength was admirable." Beth stared at Jimmy in complete shock, there was no way that someone as plain as her could gain the admiration of someone as powerful, as magnificent as an angel. "I may not have been aware of everything that happened over the past year, but I know that he thought you were surprisingly strong for a human, especially after what you've been through the past while. It confused him to no end, he didn't know what he was feeling or why."

"How… what?" She tried desperately to wrap her head around what she was just told.

"I could hear his thoughts, Beth," Jimmy said as he glanced out the window, Sam and Dean had just exited the diner. "I know that you lost your mom and brother and that you kept going even though you wanted to just break down. I also know that you didn't take on that station of demons alone."

"Cas did he–"

"He knows it was Anna that killed most of the demons," Jimmy smiled in amusement. "It's not like you could've smote them yourself."

"He didn't tell anyone, did he?" she asked frantically. Her brothers were getting closer.

"I don't think so, why are you-"

"No one can know about Anna," she told him urgently. "If they find her, she's in trouble."

"Why?" Jimmy asked.

"Because Anna's a fallen angel and they want to hurt her."

* * *

"Yup, I am _definitely _no longer hungry," Beth said as she dropped her burger on her plate. Jimmy sent her an apologetic look but continued to devour his own burger.

"Mind slowing down? You're gonna give me angina," Dean grumbled and Jimmy held his hands up in surrender, still chewing away at his burger.

"I'm hungry," Jimmy said defensively as he picked up his large cup of soda and took a long sip.

"When's the last time you ate?" Sam asked curiously.

"I dunno, months."

Dean and Beth shared a disgusted look as Jimmy shoved the last bite into his mouth, moaning happily as he ate it. When the brunette glanced not-so-subtly at Beth and then her cheese burger, she rolled her eyes and shoved the plate at him—he took it with a wide smile and a nod of thanks.

"What the hell happened back there?" Sam said, leaning his elbows on the table. "It looked like an angel battle royale."

"All I remember is a flash of light and I, uh, woke up and I was, you know, just like me again."

"So what? Cas just ditched out of your meat suit?" Dean questioned.

"I _really _don't know," Jimmy replied. His cheeks puffing out at the amount of food stuffed in his mouth.

"Do you remember anything about being possessed?" Jimmy glanced at Sam quickly before his eyes flickered to Beth, who had a pleading look on her face, begging him not to tell them what he had told her.

"Bits and pieces." Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "Having an angel inside you is kinda like being chained to a comet."

"That doesn't sound like much fun," Dean pursed his lips, feeling a hint of sympathy for Jimmy.

"Understatement." Jimmy went back to eating the remains of Beth's burger.

"Cas said he wanted to tell us something, please tell me you remember that." Sam kept a secure gaze locked on Jimmy's face, examining him to see if he could find any hints of dishonesty when the other man finally answered.

"Sorry." Jimmy shook his head apologetically.

"Come _on_, what _do _you know?" Dean probed.

"Dean, leave him alone," Beth scolded without hesitation. "It's clear he doesn't remember anything, and even if he did, he would've told us by now, right Jimmy?"

"Yeah, what she said," Jimmy agreed.

"There has to be something," Dean urged, ignoring Beth.

"My name is Jimmy Novak," Jimmy said finally, a deeply thoughtful look on his face. "I'm from Pontiac, Illinois and I have a family."

"Beth, you stay here with Jimmy." Dean clapped a hand down on her shoulder as he stood up. "Sam, we need to talk, outside."

"Yeah, sure." Sam nodded and followed Dean outside the motel room and across the lot to the car.

"Can you tell me more about your family?" Beth asked hesitantly.

"I'm married to a woman named Amelia," Jimmy smiled fondly as an image of his wife and daughter appeared in his mind. "She's beautiful and smart and loving. We have a daughter, Claire—she's 11 years old now."

"What's she like?" Beth rested her elbows on the table, leaning towards him.

"She's… just like her mother," Jimmy explained quietly, missing his family with all his heart. "But she has my eyes."

"She sounds lovely," Beth smiled. She hesitantly set a hand on his squeezing it comfortingly. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For you not being able to see them for a whole year—it can't be easy for you." Jimmy returned Beth's smile with a weak one of his own and set his left hand over hers, patting it gently before pulling away.

"You're right, it hasn't been easy," he said as he turned his gaze to the wedding ring on his finger, turning it in circles slowly. "…I just left them behind. I didn't even stop to think about what it would do to them. I'll be lucky if Amelia lets me back in."

"If she loves you, she will," Beth told him gently. His eyes flickered up to meet hers and her lips twitched up into a side smile.

"Why would she do that?" he questioned. "After _everything, _why would she welcome me back?"

Beth was silent for a moment, trying to decide what to say in response. Jimmy was staring at her, waiting patiently for her to speak her mind, to tell him why she thought his wife would forgive him.

"Because… because people make mistakes and when they do, it's only fair that they get a second chance. I know you feel guilty for leaving them, but sometimes… sometimes you have to do what you feel is right… even if it hurts the ones you love."

"I can see why he was interested in you," Jimmy stated finally, assessing her through his deep—but not as deep as Cas'—blue eyes. "You have a kind heart. Don't ever lose it."

"I-I won't." She swallowed deeply and looked away. In that split second, she felt as though it was Cas that she was talking to, that was staring at her in that strange, yet adorable, squinty way he did. And she did not just think that. She did _not _just call one of Cas's traits _adorable. _Nope. Definitely _not._

She was yanked out of her thoughts as Sam and Dean re-entered the motel room, closing and locking the motel door behind them and coming to stand just in front of her and Jimmy.

"There's been a change of plan," Dean started, glancing between his half-sister and Jimmy. "As it turns out, you can't go home."

"The hell you talking about, I can't go home?" Jimmy demanded in disbelief.

"There's a good change you've got a bulls eye on your back," Dean explained with a shrug. Sam perched himself on the edge of the table and watched the scene before him play out. Beth crossed her arms over her chest, sharing Jimmy's feeling of disbelief. She couldn't _believe _that Dean and Sam were refusing to let Jimmy go back home to his wife and daughter.

"What?" Jimmy's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline. "From who?"

"…Demons."

"Come on; that's crazy." He shook his head, turning to give Beth a look that said 'are you buying what they're selling?' and she shrugged weakly, not wanting to side with anyone, even if what Dean was saying was starting to make a little bit of sense. It probably _was _safer if Jimmy were to remain with them, if that meant that he would be safe and so would his family. But she wasn't going to get on his bad side by agreeing with her half-brothers. "What'd they want with me?"

"I dunno. Information, maybe?" Dean asked rhetorically.

"I don't _know_ _anything_," Jimmy repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, raising his voice slightly. He couldn't believe that these strangers were actually trying to prevent him from leaving, from seeing his family again. What gave them the right to tell him he couldn't leave?

"I know," Dean also raised his voice to match Jimmy's.

"Look, I'm done! Okay? With demons, angels, _all of it._" Jimmy interrupted before Dean could continue. "I just wanna go home."

"Look, we understand that-"

"No, I don't think you do understand," Jimmy said angrily. "I've been _shot_ and _stabbed_ and _healed. _My body's been dragged _all over the earth." _Jimmy paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "By some miracle, I'm out. I'm _done. _I've given _enough_, okay?"

"Look, all we're saying is until we figure this out, the safest place is with us," Sam took over from Dean, standing up and taking the spot on Dean's right.

"Beth, don't tell me you agree with them?" Jimmy asked as he turned to her, wanting her to side with him. He knew deep down that she understood how he was feeling, that she would help him if he asked her to.

"I-I don't agree with them wanting to keep you here against your will," Beth answered reluctantly, gaining irritated looks from her half-brothers. "But I agree that this might be the safest place for you… and your family."

Jimmy looked away from her and back towards Sam, "How long?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Sam said after a minute.

Jimmy shook his head angrily and made his way past Dean towards the door. Beth followed him with her eyes but made no move to go after him.

"Where are you going?" Dean demanded. Sam put a hand against Jimmy's chest and pushed him back a few steps.

"To see my wife and daughter, okay?" Jimmy snapped, grabbing his trench coat off the table.

"No. You're not," Sam told him firmly, "you're just gonna put those people in danger."

"So what, now I'm a prisoner?" Jimmy couldn't believe these people, he really couldn't. Were they really going to keep him locked up because some demons _may _or _may not _be after him?

"Harsh way to put it." Sam shrugged lightly.

"I can't believe you guys." Jimmy shook his head, dropping his coat on the table and backing away from Sam.

Beth felt pity for him as she took in his desperate expression, she reached out and set her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry-"

"I don't wanna hear it." He shrugged her hand off roughly and stormed across the room, sitting down on the bed nearest the door with his back to them.

Beth pushed her hair away from her face as she reluctantly turned to face her brothers. She sent them a disappointed look and moved to sit at the table, sipping at her cup of pineapple juice.

"I can't believe you guys," she whispered, trying not to disturb Jimmy, who had stretched out across the bed and pulled the comforter up to his chin. "I thought you were better than this—I never imagined that you would willingly keep someone from going home to the family who missed them dearly, who were worried sick about them and had no idea if they were okay, or if they were even still alive. I guess you're not the men I thought you were."

Beth finished her juice and turned her back on them, climbing onto the couch and curling up into a ball, knees drawn in to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

* * *

Beth had been kept awake for hours after the argument between her, her half-brothers and Jimmy. She couldn't help the guilt that was eating away at her for not trying to encourage Sam and Dean into letting Jimmy go. She missed her mom and brother more than anything, so she could imagine what he was going through, the only difference was that his family was still alive and hers wasn't.

At 4:34am, when Sam had left the motel room, presumably to get a drink from the soda machine, and Dean was fast asleep in his bed, snoring away, Beth quickly got up off the couch and tiptoed towards Jimmy's bed.

"Hey, wake up," she whispered gently shaking his shoulder. "Jimmy, wake up."

"Huh? What—?" Beth quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and placed a finger against her own, gesturing for him to be quiet.

"If you wanna get home to your family, now is the time," she told him urgently and stepped back. Jimmy nodded eagerly, climbing out of bed and tugging his trench coat on. Beth pulled on her doc martens and tied them quickly before shoving the loose articles of clothing of hers that lay around the room in her bag and pulled her jacket on, gesturing for him to follow her.

"Thank you for this," he told her quietly as he carefully closed the door behind them.

"It's not a problem. I know you would do the same if it was someone else in your position," Beth returned with a gentle smirk, walking quickly past the long line of motel rooms.

* * *

Later that morning, Sam was frantically shoving belongings into his duffel bag and Dean was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth and taking his time.

"Dean, would you hurry up?" he barked. Dean exited the bathroom, toothbrush still in his mouth as he chuckled deeply at his brother. "Sorry, this is funny to you?" Sam demanded.

"Mr big, bad prison guard, our sis and Jimmy gives you the slip, yeah, it's pretty funny." Dean removed the toothbrush from his mouth. Sam sent him an irritated look and went back to packing. "What were you doing anyway?"

"I was getting a coke," Sam said defensively.

"Was it a refreshing coke?" Dean asked mockingly. He wasn't that worried about Jimmy leaving, it was the fact that Beth had either willingly gone with the older man or had been dragged along that had him concerned.

"Can we just go? _Please_?" Sam asked. He was also worried about Beth, she knew next to nothing about what they hunted and wouldn't stand a chance against demons, should she and Jimmy encounter them.

Dean nodded finally and returned to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth.

* * *

"Hey, there's no need to worry. You'll see them soon," Beth said to Jimmy. The older man was bouncing his knee up and down as he stared out of the window of the bus.

"I'm sorry, I just… I can't wait to see them again," Jimmy said truthfully.

"It's understandable, trust me." Beth pulled a can of soda from her bag and handed it over to him, waving his words of thanks aside and taking out her own grape soda.

"Won't your brothers be angry that you've run off?" Jimmy asked.

"I… I doubt it." She shrugged weakly at him. "I'm only their half-sister, I doubt they even know I'm gone."

"I don't think that's true," Jimmy reassured her, looking down at her. "It was obvious that they care about you. Sam made sure you got your dinner first before anyone else and he got you that pineapple juice, which is obviously something you like very much and Dean wouldn't let you move away from his side, it was as if he thought I would attack you or something and he wasn't willing to let you get hurt."

"Really?" Beth met his gaze evenly, hope flashing across her face.

"I think they care for you more than you know."

Beth smiled widely up at him before turning away and sticking headphones in her ears. Jimmy's lips twitched into a smile as well as he went back to staring out of the window.

He would be back home with his family soon enough.

* * *

"That's it. That's my house," Jimmy told her, pointing towards a large, beautiful house with a wide porch and a lawn in front of it.

"It's beautiful," she admitted, staring at it with wide eyes. She followed Jimmy up the sidewalk and onto the path leading to the porch.

Jimmy came to a sudden stop a few feet from the porch steps and Beth skidded slightly to stop herself from colliding with his back. She looked up at him in concern, wondering why he wasn't going any closer.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it's just… I have so many memories of this place," he said with emotion filled eyes. Beth smiled at his words and took his hand, guiding him up onto the porch. He glanced through the window to see a young girl sitting at the table, studying hard. Beth followed his gaze and came to the conclusion that the blonde girl must have been his daughter, Claire.

"She's pretty." Beth nudged him gently after releasing his hand.

Claire turned slightly in her chair and spoke to someone just out of sight and a few seconds later, a beautiful woman with blonde hair entered the room, leaning over her daughter to get a better look at her assignment.

"Go on," Beth encouraged, stepping back as he stopped in front of the door. "It's time for you to see them again."

Jimmy nodded at her words, taking a deep breath and pressing the doorbell. It rang for a short period of time before the door opened to reveal Jimmy's wife. Amelia's eyes widened in shock and in relief as she stared at him.

"We, uh… we stopped looking for you," Amelia stated, feeling the familiar sting of tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Jimmy whispered as tears welled in his eyes.

"You were dead." Amelia's eyes flickered to Beth, who stood awkwardly behind Jimmy, a few feet away. "We… we thought you were dead."

"I'm okay," Jimmy assured his wife, regaining her attention. "I just… I needed to see you again… you and Claire."

"Who is she?" Amelia looked back at Beth, eyes narrowing as the brunette waved weakly.

"I'm Beth. Beth Milligan," she introduced herself with a polite smile before deciding to make up a story on how she knew Jimmy. "I met Jimmy at the bus station just outside of town and saw that he had no money, so I offered to pay for him."

"Why are you here?"

"He told me so much about you that I just wanted to make sure he got back to you safely," she explained lightly, "and I hope you know how lucky you are to have him, he's a nice guy, really."

Amelia was silent, staring at Beth with cautious eyes. Beth shifted awkwardly under the woman's strong gaze and felt relieved when the blonde nodded and a smile crossed her face.

"Thank you," she said genuinely to Beth.

"It's no problem," Beth grinned happily and took a step backwards. "I guess I should get going. I don't know when the bus to Windom is, but I should hurry so I don't miss it." She turned her eyes to Jimmy. "You be careful, you hear? Don't do anything stupid."

"Thank you, Bethany Milligan." Jimmy said warmly, grateful for all her help.

"Hey, it's just Beth," she corrected immediately. She turned away from the Novak's and walked slowly back down the path, wondering silently how she was going to explain her actions to Sam and Dean, she knew they'd be pissed at her. She also knew she was gonna get an earful from Dean for being so reckless.

"Wait!" Beth spun around to find Amelia walking towards her.

"What is it?"

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Amelia asked. "I mean, it's the least I can do."

"I couldn't possibly-"

"Please. I won't take no for an answer."

"O-okay, I guess I could stay for a couple of hours," Beth said hesitantly and was promptly dragged back up the path, onto the porch and into the house after Amelia and Jimmy.

* * *

Beth sat awkwardly at the dining room table, occasionally glancing at Claire, who was openly staring at her. Jimmy and Amelia were in the front room, talking quietly amongst themselves.

"So, what are you working on?" Beth asked curiously.

"History assignment," Claire replied, glancing down at the paper in front of her.

"Ah, History was one of my favourite classes when I was your age," Beth smiled gently at the girl.

"How do you know my dad?"

"I met him at a bus station just outside of town, he seemed like a nice guy, so I helped him find his way home," Beth explained.

Claire simply smiled in response and stood up when her mom called her name, rushing past Beth and towards the front room.

"Hey daddy," she whispered, throwing her short arms around him.

"Hey baby." Jimmy held her tightly, closing his eyes as he savoured the moment between himself and his daughter.

Beth met Amelia's tearful eyes and smiled at her, feeling honoured that she was witnessing such an emotional reunion between a father and his child. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued smiling away to herself.

* * *

"So, we have turkey and roast beef," Amelia explained as she set two plates of sandwiches on the table. "If that's okay?"

"It looks delicious, thank you, Mrs Novak," Beth said, eyeing the food hungrily. She remembered a time when her mom used to do the same thing, making her and Adam piles of sandwiches and letting them eat them in the living room in front of the TV.

"It's perfect—it's more than perfect," Jimmy added, resting his hands against the back of the chair. "Shall we sit?"

Beth waited until the Novak's had sat down before she took the seat beside Claire. Jimmy sat at the head of the table and Amelia sat across from Claire, on Jimmy's right.

"It's perfect," Jimmy repeated, picking up a sandwich.

"Daddy, aren't you gonna say grace?" Claire asked, confused.

"No honey, I don't think I am," Jimmy answered after a moment. Beth felt pity for the man well in her stomach, it didn't really surprise her that he didn't want to say grace after everything he'd been through the past year, acting as Castiel's vessel.

"Why are you crying?"

"'Cause I'm happy," Jimmy explained tearfully, looking towards his daughter. Claire smiled brightly at him, gaining a watery laugh from her dad. Amelia looked awfully uncomfortably and the doorbell suddenly ringing seemed to give her a reason to move, to do something.

"Hey, let me get that for you," Beth told the older woman gently. "It's the least I can do," she added when Amelia made to protest.

"Thank you," Amelia said finally and sat back down. Beth nodded and left the dining room, heading straight for the door. She opened it and came face-to-face with a man with light ginger hair and dark green eyes.

"Can I help you?" Beth asked politely.

"Is Amelia home?" the man questioned.

"Uh, yeah, Mrs Novak's in the dining room. I'll just go get her, wait here." Beth closed the door behind the man and walked back to the dining room, telling Amelia that a man wanted to speak to her.

Jimmy followed his wife out moments later and hugged the man. Beth remained in the doorway of the dining room with Claire behind her, peeking out at the adults from under Beth's arm. Beth smirked in amusement and crouched down, telling Claire to climb onto her back. She stood up to her full height which allowed Claire to see what was going on without having to crouch down.

"Can I get you a beer?" Amelia asked and Roger nodded, thanking her as she headed for the kitchen.

Amelia walked back into the living room in time for Jimmy to hit Roger roughly over the head with a heavy object, she gasped in horror as her husband began hitting their neighbour over and over again in the head.

"What are you doing?" Amelia cried out.

"He's a demon!" Jimmy yelled back.

Beth jumped at the sudden shout, almost knocking Claire's head against the top of the doorframe. She set the girl down on the ground and herded her towards the stairs, pushing her up them and telling her not to leave her room until Beth came for her.

She raced to the kitchen and grabbed her bag, riffling through it until she found the flask of holy water Dean had given her when she was dropped off with them again after meeting Castiel. Without a moment's hesitation, she hurried to Jimmy's side and flung her wrist out, sending a small splash of holy water onto Roger's face. He yelped in pain and anger as the holy water ate through the skin of his face, leaving burn marks on his skin.

Jimmy hit Roger again as he made to get up and lunge at Beth, who jumped backwards out of the way.

"Stop! What are you doing?" Amelia screamed.

"Run, Amelia! He's a demon!" Jimmy ordered. Beth quickly grabbed Amelia's hand and tugged her out of the living room, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and calling on Claire. The young girl appeared at once, running down the stairs and latching onto her mom.

* * *

"Why did you do that?" Jimmy paid no attention to Amelia, riffling through the objects on the shelves in the pantry.

"Do you know how to fight them?" he asked Beth urgently.

"N—no. Dean and Sam never got around to teaching me," Beth answered shakily, running her fingers through her hair. "But, Anna said… she said that salt can hold them off, if we spread it around the doors and windows, it should buy us some time until I can get my brothers here."

She joined Jimmy in his search and eventually came across a large tub of salt. She edged her way past Amelia and Claire, heading straight for the door.

"Roger was your best friend," Amelia whispered, keeping Claire behind her.

"No. Roger was a demon, dammit," Jimmy corrected, pouring salt over across the bottom of the door. "Don't cross this line," he ordered.

"I thought you were better—you said you were better," Amelia accused.

"I am better, I'm not crazy," he said desperately. Amelia backed away, holding a scared Claire against her back.

"Stay the hell away from us!" Amelia barked.

"This is all a big misunderstanding," Jimmy pleaded. Beth shifted awkwardly on her feet, watching him trying to get his wife to understand what was really happening.

"You're crazy!" Amelia snapped. Jimmy grabbed her arms, reaching one hand out towards Claire. Amelia pushed with all her strength, shoving Jimmy against the shelves and shouting for Claire to run. The young girl ducked past Beth as she tried to grab her and fled into the kitchen. Beth raced after her, calling for her to come back.

Jimmy darted after them, only to skid to a stop beside Beth and stare at a bloody Roger, who had Claire in his hold, a knife poised over her throat. Amelia entered the hall last and went to run to Claire's aid when Beth held an arm out, preventing her from going closer.

"Heya pal," Roger greeted cheerfully, acting as though he hadn't just had his head bashed in. Amelia stared at him wide, disbelieving eyes. "Told ya I'd get the bitch."

"Roger," Amelia breathed.

"Daddy!" Claire gasped fearfully.

"Let her go, you son of a bitch!" Beth ordered, a very Dean—like expression. She'd heard those words some many times since Dean had rescued her that it seemed to be favourite catch phrase now.

"Normally, I would, but in this case," Roger started, backing away with Claire, "the misses has other ideas."

A woman with short brown hair suddenly appeared, leaping onto Jimmy's back and tackling him to the floor. She immediately began punching him as Claire screamed loudly. The woman turned her head towards Beth and Amelia, her eyes completely pitch black.

"Oh my god," Amelia whispered. "No!" The blonde latched onto the demon and tugged her backwards, stopping her from hitting Jimmy again. The demon let out an angry shriek, struggling against Amelia. Beth rushed to help, only to get back-handed and sent flying across the hall into the wall.

Roger let out a sudden, strangled cry that filled the air. Beth glanced up, pressing a hand against her bleeding forehead to find Dean standing there, holding a strange looking knife in his hand. Claire darted away from Roger's fallen body, throwing herself at her mom as the female demon attempted to flee the room, only to be stopped by Sam, who seemed to make her freeze on the spot just by holding his hand out.

Jimmy scrambled to his feet, pulling his wife and daughter to him. Dean's gaze locked on Sam, watching as he held the female in place.

"Go! Get out of here!" Sam ordered breathlessly.

"Go! Go!" Dean encouraged as he helped Beth to her feet, slipping his arm around her waist to support her weight.

"Dean, I need my bag," she told him, her vision swimming. "It's on the kitchen table."

"Get her out of here," Dean gently pushed her to Jimmy, watching as the man followed his example, slipping his arm around her and encouraging her to lean against him as he rushed her and his family outside. Dean and Sam appeared seconds later, running towards them. Dean had Beth's bag slung over his left shoulder. "Where's your wife?" he demanded, looking at Jimmy.

"I'm right here," Amelia answered as she popped up beside Claire, wrapping a coat around her daughter.

"Let's go," Dean ordered as he climbed into the front seat. Sam took Beth from Jimmy helping her into the front of the car and climbing in after her. He pulled out a bandanna from her bag after Dean had handed it to him and pressed it firmly against her head.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Sam asked softly.

"I'll be fine," she assured him weakly, face pale from the smell of the blood. "It'll take more than a bang to the head to take me down."

"That's good to know," Sam chuckled and gained a small smile from Beth. She leaned against him, hesitantly resting her head against his shoulder and sighing, exhausted from the day's events.

"You were right," Jimmy sighed, looking from his wife and daughter in the back of the car to Dean, who was frowning.

"Sorry we were," her brother said in response. Beth glanced over at them, trying not to wince as Sam finished cleaning the cut on her head and stuck a large band aid over it.

"You'll be fine, it doesn't stitches or anything," Sam told her, sticking the first aid kit back in the trunk. "It's just a cut."

"Thanks, Sam."

"I'm telling you, I don't know anything," Jimmy was saying when Beth tuned back in to their conversation.

"I don't think they're inclined to believe you," Dean pointed out.

"And even if they did, you're a vessel," Sam continued for his brother, "they're still gonna wanna know what makes you tick."

Beth turned away from the trio, grabbing her bag from the front seat and taking out a bottle of pain killers, she shook a couple out onto her palm and chased them down with a bottle of water she found in the glove compartment.

"Don't you get it?" Sam demanded suddenly, regaining Beth's attention. "Forever. The demons will never stop. You can never be with your family. So you either get as far away from them as possible, or you put a bullet in your head, and _that_ is how you keep your family _safe _but there's no getting out and there's no going home."

Dean looked taken aback by his brother's harsh words as Beth re-joined them, a shocked look on her face. She stood beside Jimmy, eyeing Sam warily.

"Why the hell would you say that?" she asked sharply. "Don't you think he feels bad enough as it is?"

"Because it's the truth," Sam told her, turning his gaze onto her.

"Well, don't sugar-coat it, Sam," Dean snorted.

"I'm just telling him the truth, Dean," Sam snapped. "Someone has to."

With that said, Sam and Dean walked a few feet away, discussing something quietly, and leaving Beth standing beside a shell-shocked Jimmy and rubbing her arm awkwardly.

"I'm sorry for what he said, it was uncalled for."

"No, it wasn't. He's right, I shouldn't have come back; I was the one who put them in danger." Jimmy's gaze slid to his wife and daughter, sadness covering his face.

Beth sighed in pity, following his gaze. She squeezed his arm gently before leaving his side and climbing onto the hood of the Impala.

Beth watched sadly as Jimmy said his goodbyes to his family, she knew how hard it must be for him. She was taken by surprise as Claire suddenly approached her, hugging her tightly around the waist. She glanced up at Jimmy to find him watching his daughter fondly, sending a small smile at Beth, she returned it and hugged Claire back, brushing her thumb over Claire's long blonde locks.

"You be good, you hear?" Beth crouched in front of her. "If you need someone to talk to, at any time, just give me a call, all right?" she handed a piece of paper to Claire, watching as the girl tucked it into her pocket.

"Will you take care of my daddy?"

"Of course, you have my word," Beth promised, holding out her hand and grinning as Claire linked their pinkies together, shaking their hands up and down once. "See ya later, squirt."

Claire gave her a bright, parting smile and headed back to her mom. Beth waved at them as she climbed into the backseat of the Impala, waiting patiently as Jimmy waved goodbye and joined her in the back. Sam and Dean were already sitting in the front, waiting to go.

They drove out of the parking garage minutes later, leaving Claire and Amelia behind. Beth bit her lip, an odd feeling coming over her as the two blondes disappeared from sight.

"What's wrong?" Jimmy asked curiously, seeing her worried expression.

"Nothing… just had a bad feeling, is all."

* * *

Beth's phone started ringing suddenly, jerking her from her sleep and causing her to hit her head against the roof of the car.

"Hello?" she asked sleepily as she flipped her phone open and answered the call.

"_Hey, Beth,_" Amelia greeted cheerfully.

"Amelia?" Beth said in surprise, gaining curious looks from her brothers. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"_Everything's fine, I was just wondering if you could put Jimmy on the phone?_" Amelia replied in a reassuring voice.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Hold on a sec." Beth leaned across and gently patted Jimmy's shoulder. He woke up almost immediately, his blue eyes locking on her. "It's Amelia, she wants to talk."

"Amelia," Jimmy greeted, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one hand. A look of horror appeared on his face.

"What is it?" Beth mouthed in concern.

"Oh my god," was all Jimmy uttered before the call cut off.

* * *

"Well… this is a nice place," Beth pursed her lips, eyeing the abandoned factory in distaste.

"Right, they're expecting you to come alone," Dean told Jimmy as the man pulled his trench on, "and that's exactly what you're gonna do."

"We'll be right behind you," Sam added. Beth nodded in agreement.

"All you gotta do is stay calm and stall," Dean finished. "Let us do our job."

"You want me to stay calm? This is my family we're talking about!"

"Listen to me, this will work, you understand? Nobody's gonna get hurt."

"Yeah, whatever," Jimmy said flippantly. He started walking away from them. "Give me a minute okay?"

"D'you think he's gonna be okay?" Beth asked worriedly.

"Of course," Dean told her reassuringly.

"There's no way they're expecting him to come alone, Dean," Sam pointed out. "You know this is probably a trap."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I have a plan."

"You knew this was a trap?" Beth demanded, glaring at them. "You just let him walk right in there—he could die… so could his family."

"We didn't have another choice, princess," Dean replied. He glanced down at her. "Maybe it's best if you stay here."

"No. No way," Beth disagreed stubbornly. "I'm not waiting out here, you two might not come back. Besides, you need all the help you can get."

"She has a point, Dean." Sam shared a meaningful look with Dean. His brother nodded subtly, the action going unnoticed by Beth.

"Yeah, I guess she does."

Before Beth could fight back, Sam pulled her against him, grasping her arms and holding them out to Dean, who locked one handcuff around her wrist before hooking it through the space in between the door handle and the car and attaching it to her other wrist. Sam released her with a smirk, watching in amusement as she struggled against her restraints.

"What the _hell _are you _doing?_" Beth demanded, sending a glare over her shoulder.

"I'm afraid you're gonna be stuck out here princess," Dean said with a wink. "You don't know anything about hunting, so it's safer it you stay here."

"Dean!" she yelled as they grabbed their necessary equipment and walked away. "Don't you dare leave me here!"

* * *

"Damn son of a bitch!" Beth cursed, tugging uselessly at the handcuffs.

She'd been stuck to the car for the last five minutes and was still trying to free herself. It wasn't easy, seeing as she had nothing to try and open the cuffs with.

The flutter of wings sounded behind her and she turned the best she could, looking over her shoulder at the familiar brunette.

"You look like you're in a spot of bother," he told her with an amused smirk.

"Would you just help me out, please?" she begged. He nodded and set a hand over the cuffs, they sprung open immediately and Beth pulled her wrists free, rubbing them gratefully.

"What do I get in return?"

"My everlasting gratitude?" Beth offered.

"I already have that," he replied.

"Ugh, you're so annoying," she grumbled. She grabbed the lapels of his coat and drew him into a quick hug before pushing him away and running towards the factory. "Catch you later!"

"You have my thanks, little dove." He turned on his heel and disappeared from sight.

* * *

Beth burst into the factory in time to see Amelia shoot Jimmy. She let out a startled gasp, watching as he clutched his side and fell to the ground.

"Waste little orphan Annie," Amelia ordered, eyes flickering to one of the other demons.

The large male approached a tied up Claire slowly, edging around Jimmy's sprawled out form and stopped in front of the chair, raising a metal pipe to hit Claire with. Beth was about to run to Claire's aid when the girl's head suddenly snapped up and she set a small hand on the man's forehead, watching as a bright light shot out of her palm and the demon shrieked in agony as the girl smote it.

The distraction gave Sam and Dean enough time to break free and launch their own attacks on the demons. Beth rushed over, grabbing hold of the one trying to strangle Dean, she tugged him backwards, freeing Dean from his tight grasp.

"Beth!" Dean said breathlessly. "How the hell did you get out?"

"I had help," she answered with a shrug. "Now is not the time, we have bigger issues to deal with."

She glanced over and saw that Sam had managed to pin the female demon down, raising the demon killing knife to her neck. The demon that had previously attacked Dean turned its sights on Beth, throwing her to the ground and wrapping his hands around her neck.

"D… Dean!" she wheezed desperately, clawing at the man's hands. Castiel stopped beside the demon and smote it as well, the body slumped to the floor and Beth was left sucking air in greedily. She sent a thankful look at Castiel. "Thank you, C-Cas."

The young girl nodded once and stepped aside, giving Beth room to scramble to her feet. Her brown eyes locked on Sam and she gasped in horror, hands flying to her mouth as Sam locked his mouth around the cut he'd made on the demon's neck and started sucking at the blood that welled up. Her half-brother's head snapped up as she let out a choked breath. Blood was smeared around his lips, cheeks and chin and stained his teeth a bright red.

"Oh my god," Beth whispered, stumbling backwards into Dean. He gently grabbed her elbow and held her in place. Sam turned back around and plunged the knife into the woman's chest, killing her instantly, her skeleton sparking twice before fading.

He took a step towards them and Beth panicked, letting out a terrified squeak as she yanked her arm free and hid behind Dean. Sam raised his arm suddenly, causing Dean to jerk back in surprise, only to realize that he was exorcising the demon possessing Amelia, who stood behind them.

Thick, black smoke poured from Amelia's mouth, drifting towards the floor. Amelia let out a rough cough as the smoke settled in a cloud on the ground and she fell to her knees, unable to support her own body weight. The smoke slowly burned away, leaving a scorch mark in the shape of a circle on the ground. Castiel walked around Amelia, heading to Jimmy's side as Dean went to Amelia's aid, lifting her up onto her feet.

Beth watched as Castiel crouched beside Jimmy, running her fingers through his thick, black hair. Jimmy weakly looked up at her.

"Of course we keep our promises," she told him, "of course you have our gratitude. You served us well. Your work is done. It's time to go home now. Your _real_ home. You'll rest forever in the fields of the Lord."

Beth bit her lip, trying to keep the tears from falling as Jimmy slipped closer and closer to death's door. The man stubbornly shook his head, gritting his teeth as he looked up into the face of his daughter.

"Rest now, Jimmy," Castiel encouraged.

"No, Claire," Jimmy groaned weakly.

"She's with me now," Castiel replied. Beth risked a step closer, accidently kicking a small stone and causing Castiel to glance back at her quickly before turning back to Jimmy. "She's chosen. It's in her blood, as it was in yours."

"Please, Castiel," Jimmy begged, blood stained his teeth and lips. "_Please_… just… take me. Take me, please."

"I wanna make sure you understand," Castiel began as Dean, Amelia and Sam joined them, "you won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a _thousand _more like it."

Jimmy reached out weakly, grabbing a hold of Castiel's arm, "It doesn't matter," he choked out. "You take me. Just take me."

Beth glanced back at her brothers and moved to Dean's side, hooking her hands around his lower arm tightly.

"As you wish," Castiel said and rested her hands on Jimmy's face. A soft ringing filled the air, Claire's eyes turned a shimmering silver and a beautiful, white light erupted from Jimmy's eyes.

"Beth, look away," Dean ordered, tugging her head away from the light.

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"It'll burn your eyes out," he explained quietly as Claire let out a sudden gasp and slumped forward. Castiel looked around quickly before he got to his feet, walking away from Claire and coming to stand in between Beth and Sam, glancing back as Amelia went over and embraced her daughter.

"Cas, hold up," Dean spoke up as Castiel made to leave.

"What were you going to tell me?"

"I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean," Castiel answered gruffly. His eyes flickered to Beth before going back to Dean. "I serve Heaven. I don't serve man, and I certainly don't serve you."

Castiel turned away, walking towards the door. Beth took one look up at Dean's expression of disbelief and Sam's expression on shock and stormed after the angel.

"Beth, don't!" Dean hissed, only to be ignored as the eighteen year old disappeared out the door.

* * *

"Hey, jackass!" Beth shouted, gravel crunching under her shoes.

Castiel slowed to a halt, his irritation clear in the way he held himself. Beth locked her hand around his elbow and turned him to face her.

"What the hell is your problem?" she demanded. She knew that she didn't really know Sam and Dean at all, but she couldn't stop the surge of protectiveness that coursed through her—she hadn't felt this way since her mom and Adam. "What makes you think you have the right to speak to them like that?"

"I'm an Angel of the Lord and I don't need to explain myself to you," Castiel responded stoically.

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?" she hissed. "Those two guys are my brothers and no one—not even an asshole angel like you—gets to speak to them like that. Do you understand me?"

"You should hold your tongue, if you know what's good for you," he warned, squinting at her.

"I'm not scared of you." Beth held her ground, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her chin out in defiance.

"You are lucky you have purpose, Bethany Milligan, that I have orders to watch you and make sure no harm comes to you," Castiel began, towering over her. "Because if you didn't, I would lay you to waste for your disrespect."

"Bring it on." Beth glared up at him, not liking his attitude at all.

Castiel shook his head and turned away, walking off before disappearing in a flutter of wings. Beth snorted, unfolding her arms and dragging her hand through her hair.

"Stupid assed angels," she grumbled before waiting for her brothers.


	9. When The Levee Breaks

'_**It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.'**_

_**\- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Caroll.**_

* * *

_To be truthful, Beth hadn't entirely convinced that she should meet this Bobby Singer person that Sam and Dean kept going on about. She didn't know how he would react to finding out that John Winchester had had two more kids and never told anyone. She didn't want to be treated differently just because she was the 'bastard' daughter of John. _

_But Sam and Dean had been telling her non-stop during the ride down to Sioux Falls from Pontiac that Bobby would like her and wouldn't throw her out when she had nowhere to go._

_As it turned out, Beth was surprised at how nice Bobby actually was towards her when they had arrived and Sam had introduced them. He was gruff and seemed a little rough around the edges but he was polite enough and seemed pretty welcoming. He even offered her a glass of whisky, which she accepted before he sat her down and Sam, Dean and him told her about the different supernatural creatures they'd faced over the years._

_She stopped them half way through a story of a rugaru they'd recently faced with a queasy look on her face and had said that if they didn't mind, she would like to go and lay down for a while._

_Bobby had readily agreed and sent her up the stairs with directions to the quest room._

* * *

**One day later**

"Okay, run this by me again," Beth ordered, arms crossed over her chest and a stern expression on her face. "I was asleep for just a day and in that time, you've locked Sam up in the panic room and are putting him through some sort of detox thing?"

"Pretty much." Dean nodded as an unamused smirk crossed his face.

"I don't understand why he's being put through a detox, what's he addicted to?"

"You saw what he did in Pontiac," Dean responded slowly, "what do you think he's addicted to?"

"Y-you're telling me that he's got an addiction to demon blood?" Beth's eyebrows shot up in horror. She glanced quickly at Bobby, who nodded in confirmation. "Why is he doing it?"

"Because he thinks it's gonna make him strong enough to kill Lilith to stop the apocalypse."

"Kill Lilith? Stop the apocalypse?" she repeated dumbly. "What _are_ you talking about?"

"That's why those damn angels are walking among us," Bobby explained gruffly, "they're trying to stop Lilith from breaking the seals that will free Lucifer from his cage."

"_Lucifer_? _Thee _Lucifer?" She gaped at them, her mind reeling. "As in the devil, Lucifer?"

"Oh yeah, isn't it just awesome?" Dean asked snarkily. "If 66 seals are broken, he walks the earth."

"A-and that will bring about the whole apocalypse thing?" At Dean's nod, Beth let out a shaky breath and deposited herself on the chair behind the desk. "This is too much. This is probably all just a dream and I'll wake up back at University and mom and Adam will be alive and they'll laugh when I tell them about this."

Dean and Bobby shared a pitying look before glancing back at Beth as she ran her hand through her messy waves.

"Beth, it's not a dream." She looked up at them through blank hazel eyes and nodded slowly.

"I know… but I want it to be."

Dean was silent for a moment, staring down at his half-sibling. "I'm gonna go see how he's doing."

"I'll come too," Beth said eagerly and stood up, wanting to move around and do something instead of just sitting there doing nothing.

"Suit yourself, but we're not going in there," Dean told her firmly and she nodded quickly, following after him towards the basement stairs.

* * *

Dean opened the hatch on the door and peered inside, catching Sam's annoyed gaze. Beth fidgeted behind him, peering at Sam almost nervously.

"Okay, let me out. This isn't funny," Sam ordered, a scowl spreading across his lips.

"Damn straight," Dean agreed.

"Dean, come on." Sam approached the hatch slowly, staring out at his siblings. "This is crazy!"

"No. Not until you dry out."

"Look, I'm sorry—I shouldn't have lied to you," Sam started lowly, his eyes giving away the irritation he felt. "Just open the door."

"You don't have to apologize," Dean told him. Beth frowned at him, thinking that Sam should apologize for doing what he'd done, that he should know that it's wrong, unnatural. "It's not your fault. It's not your fault that you've lied to me over and over again, or that you scared the crap out of Beth back at that factory. I get it now—you can't help it."

"I'm not some junkie," Sam argued defensively.

"Really?" Dean asked cynically. "I guess I've just imagined how strung out you've been lately."

Sam chuckled in disbelief. "You're actually trying to twist this into some kind of ridiculous drug intervention?"

"If it smells like a duck," Dean retorted.

"Dean, I'm not drinking demon blood for kicks," Sam said firmly. "I'm getting strong enough to kill Lilith."

"Are you?" Sam was startled by Beth's sudden question as he glanced towards her. "Are you really? Because it doesn't look like it from where I'm standing—this problem of yours is just going to end badly and Dean… Dean and I will be left to pick up the pieces."

Dean was clearly going to back up Beth the longer he stared at his brother. "Strong?" he repeated quietly.

"Yeah!"

"This is about as far away from _strong_ as you can get. Try weak. Try _desperate, pathetic._"

"Killing Lilith is what matters," Sam countered impatiently. "Or are you so busy being self-righteous that you've forgotten about her?"

"Oh, Lilith's gonna die," Dean assured him, "Bobby and Beth and I are gonna kill her, but not with you."

"You're not serious." Sam shook his head.

"Congrats, Sammy," Dean stated mockingly, "you've just bought yourself a benchwarmer seat to the apocalypse."

"Dean, look-" Sam was cut off as Dean began to close the hatch. "No! Wait!" He banged angrily on the door, causing Beth to jump in surprise. "Come back here! Dean! Beth! Let me out of here!"

Dean grabbed Beth's shoulder gently and guided her away from the door, pushing her up the stairs in front of him. She glanced back once, feeling sorry for her second oldest brother as he continued to pound on the door.

* * *

"You said that I was gonna help you kill Lilith, but I don't know how to fight," Beth pointed out, resting against the desk.

"I know, that's why I'm gonna teach you the basics," Dean told her. He picked up the gun from beside him and gestured for her to follow him, which she did hesitantly.

"Where are we going?" she asked, trailing after him along the path in between scrap metal and old cars.

"Just a little further." Dean stopped just at the edge of the woods by Bobby's house and held the gun out to her. She took it nervously, holding the butt of the gun with her thumb and forefinger away from her body. She stared at it as though she expected it to go off like a bomb. "Relax, it's not loaded," Dean snorted in amusement.

"Well, excuse me! I've never even held a gun before." She glowered at him, huffing in irritation.

Dean's amusement died down a bit as he was suddenly reminded that the Beth that had been there when Adam was learning to shoot was actually one of the ghouls and not his real, human half-sister. Beth seemed to realize why he was suddenly all sombre and quiet and set a hand on his arm, squeezing gently as he looked up in surprise.

"Don't blame yourself—they were rather convincing," she said gently.

"How did you know?"

"It was kinda obvious and… and they bragged about how Sam was awfully eager to teach them how to shoot and didn't even know something was off."

"I should've noticed sooner," Dean pointed out as he took the gun back and showed her how to load the gun and how to use it step-by-step.

She took it from him after he had taken it apart again and copied his actions, struggling only when it came to putting the bullets in the gun. Dean had to show her twice before she finally caught on.

"Now. Time for the shooting part."

"Wait, what?" Beth demanded, eyes wide. "You never said anything about actually _firing _the gun."

"Well how else are you gonna learn?" Dean rolled his eyes at her.

"By watching you and hoping for the best?" she offered pathetically.

"Get over here," Dean grumbled and waited until she was standing beside him before going to readjust the target on the tree about five feet away. "Now, you need to straighten your spine." He set a hand against her back and put pressure on it until her back was completely straight. He went on to adjust her arms, telling her to square her shoulders because the gun would have quite a kick and would jerk her shoulder back if she wasn't careful. "Stand with your legs a little apart," he instructed, standing behind her and showing her how to hold the gun properly. She nodded, listening carefully as he told her what to do.

"What now?" she asked.

"Now you have to focus on the target and when you think you've got in it lined up right, you shoot." Beth nodded in response, closing one eye and lining the gun up until she was satisfied. She opened her eye, took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. A loud bang sounded and her shoulder snapped backwards slightly at the impact. The bullet hit the red ring closest to the centre circle of the target. "Good, now try again, but this time, aim for the middle." Beth smiled slightly at his words of praise and moved the gun slightly to the left and braced herself, firing a second later. This bullet hit the edge of the centre circle.

Beth huffed quietly and fired again, her eyes widening and a grin crossing her face as she finally managed to hit the centre.

"Did you see that?!" She turned towards him, a laugh slipping out. "I actually did it!"

"Well, you seem capable of handling a gun, but how good are you at fighting? Or using a knife?"

Beth deflated at that, her smile falling. She was terrible at fighting, her being thrown through a door and having her wrist snapped by a demon was proof of that… and her terrible skills of using a knife, she'd had no idea what she was doing when she used Anna's blade to try and protect them both, all she did was slice and stab at the demons clumsily.

"This is gonna end in disaster," she told him with a sigh.

"I'll be the judge of that," Dean retorted and pulled two knives out of his pocket, handing the plain looking one with a black handle to her and keeping the strange looking one from Pontiac for himself.

* * *

So, as it turned out, Beth was as terrible as she had expected and Dean had kicked her ass. She had two scratches to prove it, one on her arm and the other on her cheek. It was just two more wounds added to her collection. She had finger shaped bruises on her neck from when she had been strangled by the male demon after helping Dean and she had the cut on her head from being thrown into a wall.

She had immediately left Dean and Bobby in the study and rushed down to the panic room the moment Sam had started screaming, ignoring Dean's order to stay put. He may be willing to sit by and let his brother scream himself hoarse, but Beth couldn't stand it, she wanted to help, she had to help.

"Sam!" Beth yanked at the lock until it came loose and she pulled the door open, rushing to her half-brother's side after closing the door behind her. "Sam?"

She let out a yelp as he suddenly sat up, staring just to the left of her and began talking about how about their dad and Jess and how he was sorry about something. She stared at him in fear, wondering who he was talking to.

"S-Sam?" She reached out to him and set her hand on his shoulder. Sam jumped, startled and blinked at her as though he was seeing her for the first time. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" he asked, glancing around wildly.

"You were screaming, so I came down here to see if you were okay…"

"What is it?"

"You were talking about dad, and someone called Jess," Beth replied quietly.

"I-I'm fine. I'm just tired." He rubbed a hand across his pale, sweaty face.

"You should get some sleep," Beth said and pushed at his shoulder until he lay down fully. She grabbed the jug of water from the table and dipped the rag she'd found in it before ringing it out and set it on his forehead. "It's okay. I'm here."

"Thank you," Sam whispered, his eyes slipping shut. Beth nodded, even though he couldn't see it and lifting the bandana and wiping his face with it, cooling his overheated skin.

"It's no problem, big brother," she answered lowly, perching herself on the edge of the cot.

* * *

Beth sighed wearily as she entered the study to find Dean and Bobby finishing their glasses of whisky. They both looked up as she stopped in the doorway.

"How is he?"

"He's… he's feverish," Beth answered after a slight hesitation, "he's tired, he won't eat, and he's practically dehydrated."

"There's somethin' you're not telling us," Bobby said pointedly.

"I think he was hallucinating," she admitted. "He sat up when I went down there and was talking about dad and someone called Jess."

"This isn't good," Dean sighed, scrubbing his face with his hand. "I think we should call Cas."

"Why?" Beth demanded. "You heard what he said last time, he won't want to help us."

"Yeah, well, he ain't got much of a choice," Dean replied sharply. "We have questions that need answering and I'll make him answer if I have to."

"It won't work," Beth warned, but Dean shook his head and started for the door. She let out a deep breath, not surprised that he wasn't going to listen to her. "Stupid, stubborn asshole," she grumbled and headed after him.

* * *

Two hours later, Beth was still stood behind him, impatiently watching as he continued to yell and order Cas to get his 'feathery ass' down here now. After what seemed like forever, the fluttering of wings filled the air and they both turned to find Cas standing a few feet away, staring at them through emotionless eyes.

"Hey feather brain," Beth greeted teasingly.

"About damn time! I've been screaming myself hoarse for about two and a half hours now," Dean snapped, striding forward to stand beside Beth.

"What do you want?" Castiel asked gruffly, walking slowly forward.

"You can start with what the hell happened in Illinois," Dean responded quickly.

"What do you mean?"

"Cut the crap," Dean snapped, "you were gonna tell me something."

"Nothing of import." Beth scoffed loudly, rolling her eyes as he stared down at her.

"That's a load of crap, it was clearly important if you were dragged back to heaven because of it."

"Beth's right. You got ass-reamed in heaven but it's not of import?" Dean scowled at the blue eyed angel.

"Dean, I can't…" Cas looked behind him, as if he was afraid someone was listening from the shadows. "I'm sorry."

He walked past them, the bottom of his coat brushing against Beth's leg as he moved. They followed him with their eyes, turning slightly to keep him in their sights.

"Get to the reason you really called me. It's about Sam, right?"

"Can he do it?" Dean questioned. "Kill Lilith? Stop the apocalypse?"

"Possibly, yes," Cas replied, his back to them. "But as you know, he'd have to take certain steps."

"Crank up the hell-blood regimen." Dean nodded bitterly.

"Consuming the amount it would take to kill Lilith would change your brother forever," Cas said as he turned to face them. "Most likely, he would become the next creature that you would feel compelled to kill. There is no reason this would have to come to pass, Dean. We believe it's you, Dean. Not your brother. The only question for us is if you're willing to accept it. Stand up and accept your role."

"Hey, hold up," Beth ordered. "No one is accepting anything around here. We can worry about Lilith when Sam is better."

"We don't have time to waste, Bethany." Castiel turned to her. "Killing Lilith is our main priority right now."

"Oh yeah? Well that may be top on your list, but it sure as hell ain't on mine. Sam is more important right now," Beth argued, folding her arms over her chest. "He's suffering and he needs help."

"Beth, just can it for a minute, will ya?" Dean interrupted and she stared at him in disbelief.

"You are the one who will stop it," Cas said suddenly, regaining Dean's attention.

"If I do this," Dean began, clapping a hand over Beth's mouth as she started protesting loudly. "Sammy doesn't have to?"

"If it gives you comfort to see it that way," Cas answered simply.

"God, you're a dick these days," Dean scoffed and moved away from the angel. Beth nodded in agreement after being released by her eldest brother. "Fine, I'm in," he continued after a moment.

"Dean, no-" Beth started, but quickly fell silent as Cas pressed his fingers against her forehead and she slumped into his awaiting arms, completely out cold.

"The hell did you do that for?" Dean demanded as he spun around to see why Beth had stopped talking.

"She was testing my patience," Cas replied as he carefully set her on the trunk of a nearby car.

"Yeah, I get that." Dean nodded in agreement after a moment.

Cas turned back to the matter at hand. "You give yourself over wholly to the service of God and his angels?"

"Yeah, exactly," Dean replied.

"Say it," Cas ordered.

"I give myself over, wholly," Dean glanced back at him, turning around, "to serve God… and you guys."

"You swear to follow His word and His will as swiftly and obediently as you did your own father's?"

"Yes. I swear," Dean answered stiffly. "Now what?"

"Now you wait," Cas explained, "and we call on you when it's time."

With that, Cas disappeared, leaving Dean standing outside in the cold with a knocked out sister beside him and a wary feeling settling in his gut.

* * *

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but you willingly signed up to be the angels' bitch?" Bobby questioned gruffly, sitting on the edge of his desk with his arms crossed. "I'm sorry, you prefer 'sucker'?"

Beth let out a sudden groan from the couch, her eyelids fluttering open to reveal disorientated hazel eyes. She sat up abruptly, and immediately let out a whine as the room suddenly spun before her eyes.

"The hell—?" she slurred, pressing a hand against her throbbing hand. "Where's that trench coat wearing asshat? I'm gonna kick his ass."

She blinked up at Dean and Bobby and took in their sour expressions. "Wow. Who died?" Her eyes flickered back and forth between them. "Wait—no one actually died, right?"

"Nope. But Dean-o over there signed up to be the angels' lap dog," Bobby said, sending a taunting look at Dean, who scowled and looked away.

"You did what?" She glanced around wildly. "It was Cas, wasn't it? He talked you into it. Oh, now I'm really gonna kick his ass!"

Bobby shook his head. "After everything you've said about them, now you trust them?"

"Come on, give me a little credit, Bobby," Dean snapped, pushing away from the wall. "I've never trusted them less. I mean, they come on like shady politicians from planet Vulcan."

"Then why in the hell—?"

"Because what other option do I have?" Dean retorted. "It's either trust the angels or let Sammy trust a demon?"

"I see your point," Bobby said reluctantly.

Beth frowned, but nodded her agreement with Bobby's statement. She turned her head away from Dean, looking towards the stairs to the basement.

"It's awfully quiet down there, isn't it?"

"That's just what I was thinking," Dean agreed.

"That's a little too much nothing," Bobby added and the three of them darted for the stairs, Dean in the lead, followed by Beth and finally Bobby.

Dean yanked the hatch open and they peered in to find Sam convulsing on the floor. Beth felt her eyes grow wide as Sam let out little groans every so often and continued to convulse.

"What if he's faking?" Dean questioned.

"You really think he would?"

"I think he'd do anything," Dean answered.

Beth let out a shriek as Sam's body was suddenly thrown into the wall to their left, his body hitting the iron with a loud bang. Dean's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden move.

"I-I don't think he's faking!" Beth gasped from behind him.

"That ain't faking," Bobby agreed and reached for the handle, tugging it free with Dean's help.

Beth remained behind them as they grabbed Sam's arms and pulled him back towards the bed, pushing him down on it gently.

"Beth, your belt," Bobby said loudly, pinning Sam's arms down, "put it in his mouth, stop him from biting his tongue."

Beth nodded shakily and undid her belt, yanking it free and carefully setting it in Sam's mouth, he bit down on it immediately as he continued shaking.

"We're gonna have to tie him down for his own safety," Bobby told them. Dean just stared at his brother, not appearing to have heard Bobby. "Dean? You with me?" Bobby shared a worried glance with Beth. "Dean! Before he has another fit!"

The seemed to snap Dean out of his reverie and he nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get it over with."

"Dean, I can do it," Beth said and gently moved Dean's hands out of the way. He sent her a thankful look and back away quickly, watching as they both grabbed some cloth from the nearby table and wrapped them around Sam's wrists. Beth was silent as she was handed a pair of handcuffs and hooked one of the cuffs around the thick cloth and hooked the other one around the metal bar on the edge of the bed.

She did the same with the foot nearest her and sat back when she was finished, swallowing deeply as she pushed her messy hair from her face.

She was starting to wonder just how much of this supernatural business she could take.

* * *

After leaving the panic room, Beth had left the house with the excuse that she needed fresh air. Dean and Bobby remained in the study, talking quietly amongst themselves as she left the house, not bothering to pick up her jacket or her cell phone.

She had been walking for about five minutes when she finally stopped, glancing around the woods nervously as she realized that she hadn't bothered paying attention to where she was going and had ended up lost.

"Dammit!" she yelled, glaring at the tree in front of her, as though it were the tree's fault. "Son of a bitch!"

"Beth?"

Beth let out a startled yelp, tripping over her feet and landed in a heap on the grass. A smile spread across her face as she stared up at the face of her red headed friend.

"Anna! How nice to see you."

"What are you doing out here? And without a jacket." Anna gave her a scolding look as she pulled the brunette to her feet.

"Getting a jacket wasn't on my list of priorities," Beth explained defensively. "We, uh, we just had to restrain Sam. He was having seizures and he was being thrown around the room and everything… it's not something I wanna experience again. _Ever._"

"He's going through withdrawals," Anna said quietly, "it's not a surprise that's happening."

"You knew? About the blood, I mean."

"I could sense something different about him," Anna agreed carefully, "I just didn't expect him to be doing that."

"You're not the only one," Beth sighed softly. "I just… I don't understand _why _he would do that. Why would he put himself through that?"

"I think that he just thought he was doing what was right," Anna answered lightly as she snapped her fingers and Beth suddenly found herself covered by her brown leather jacket.

"But it's not right, it's so far from _right,_ that he should've _known_ it was wrong."

"I'm not saying I agree with him, but I can understand why he was doing it—he wanted to prove himself to his family, to show them that he was capable of being the strong one for a change."

Beth knew that Anna didn't really believe that, that she thought Sam was disgraceful for putting himself and his family through that and she was just saying it to make Beth feel better and they both knew it, but Beth was surprised at how much it actually helped. She was about to say something in response when Anna suddenly frowned, lifting a hand and pressing it against her head.

"What's wrong?" she asked in concern.

"It's Castiel—he's summoning me."

"What, now?" Beth asked in disappointment.

"Yes, I have to go."

"Wait! You'll be careful, won't you?"

"Of course I will. I'll see you soon, Beth," Anna gave her a light smile.

"You betcha, Ariel," Beth grinned and waved as Anna disappeared.

Beth eventually found her way back to the salvage yard and decided to climb into the backseat of the Impala, glad that it was still unlocked, and curled into a tight ball, resting her head against the duffel bag she'd left in the car when they'd arrived at Bobby's the other day.

She knew she should let Dean and Bobby know she was okay, but she could face going back into the house and having to listen to Sam scream in agony any more.

* * *

Beth jerked awake to the sound of a gun being cocked and shot up, glancing out of the window to find Bobby pointing a gun at Sam, who was standing in front of an old car a few feet away.

"What the hell is going on?" Beth asked, clambering out of the car.

"Uh uh, Sam," Bobby said, ignoring Beth. "The only place you're going is back inside with me and Beth."

"No," Sam disagreed, staring at them through exhausted hazel eyes. His face was extremely pale, and appeared almost paper thin under the harsh glow of the light of the moon.

"Sam, you're sick. You need to come back inside," Beth said encouragingly. Sam shook his head and Bobby let out a loud sigh.

"Dammit boy."

"You won't shoot me, Bobby." Sam risked a step closer.

"Don't test me," Bobby countered, though it lacked any heat.

"You won't do it." Beth stepped towards Bobby, eyeing Sam warily as he came even closer. The end of the barrel of the gun pressed firmly against Sam's chest. "You can't do it."

"We're trying to help you, Sam," Bobby told him, voice full of emotion.

"What are you doing?" Beth asked, panicked as Sam took a hold of the gun and moved it up to rest over his heart.

"Then shoot." Tears pooled in Sam's eyes as he stared at his surrogate father.

"Bobby!" Beth cried out as Sam yanked the gun from Bobby's hands and roughly hit the older hunter in the face with the butt of the gun. She let out a gasp as Sam suddenly turned on her, grabbing her and covering her mouth as she tried to call out for Dean. "Sam!" she begged, voice muffled by his large hand.

Sam wrapped his other arm around her neck and squeezed tightly, putting a large amount of pressure on her throat. Fearful gasps slipped out and black spots filled her vision as she struggled to stay conscious. Beth dug her fingernails into his arm, kicking and bucking against him as she tried desperately to free herself.

"Just let go, Beth," he encouraged gently, willing her to give in to the darkness. "Just let go."

Beth let out one final breath before falling unconscious for the second time that day. She went completely limp in Sam's arms and he removed his hand from her mouth, releasing her slowly and turning away as she slumped to the ground.

* * *

"Dean, I don't think this is such a good idea," Beth rasped, holding the towel full of ice against her freshly bruised neck. "Sam's dangerous right now."

"I ain't gonna leave him out there, especially not with that bitch," Dean countered, tinkering with the engine of the Impala.

"I know you don't want him near this Ruby, but you need to think about this."

"I have. I'm gonna find him and then I'm gonna kill Ruby," Dean snapped.

"Well… then I'm not gonna let you go alone," Beth said finally.

"Beth, no. You have to stay here with Bobby."

"Dean! I am not letting you go after him alone," Beth answered firmly. "You need help, especially if there's gonna be a demon there."

"…You're not going to give in, are you?"

"Definitely not." Beth shook her head.

"Fine," Dean sighed and went back to working on the engine.

Beth zoned out as Bobby reappeared and began telling them about two cars that had been stolen near where his car had been found in Jamestown, North Dakota.

"C'mon Beth," Dean called as he opened the door to the driver's seat. "Time to go."

"You two be careful, you hear?" Beth nodded and hesitated before hugging Bobby quickly and climbing into the car.

"See ya soon, Bobby."

Dean reversed quickly, stopping to say goodbye to Bobby before peeling out of the salvage yard. Beth settled back in her seat and clasped her hands in her lap to prevent herself from picking at her nails—a nervous habit she'd had since she was a child. She wasn't sure how Sam was gonna react when they finally tracked him down, but after what he'd done, she wasn't surprised at the fear she felt when she thought about him.

* * *

"Wait, are you sure this is it?" Beth grabbed Dean's arm as he stopped in front of a fancy white door.

"Oh yeah, this is it, all right," Dean promised, glaring at the door.

"Remember what Bobby said, we're here to talk to Sam, not to fight," Beth reminded him. Dean scowled, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But if Ruby's there, she's dead."

"Agreed." Beth nodded jerkily.

He proceed to open the door quietly and they both slipped inside. A dark haired woman was standing at the bed, her back to them as she worked on zipping up a duffel bag. A floorboard creaked under Dean's foot and the woman spun around just as Dean lashed out with the knife, cutting her jacket open. She grabbed his arm as he tried to stab her with the knife.

"Beth!" Dean barked at his half-sister, snapping her out of her surprise. She pulled out her own knife and lunged towards the woman, knowing without having to be told that this was Ruby, the one who had gotten Sam addicted to the demon blood in the first place.

"You little bitch!" Ruby hissed as Beth left a long cut across her abdomen. She pulled one arm free long enough to knock Beth away from her before she was shoved up against the pillar in the room and Dean put all his strength into pushing the knife towards her. Ruby let out a muffled moan as she struggled to hold him back.

Dean managed to overpower her and was about to stab her with the demon killing knife when he was grabbed from behind and yanked backwards.

"No!" Sam barked, fighting against his brother. "Let her go!"

Beth's eyes narrowed as Sam defended the black eyed monster, he failed to see Beth and she used his distraction to lunge at Ruby, knocking the other female to the floor and catching Dean's knife mid-air as he threw it to her.

"Get off of me!" Ruby growled.

"I don't think so, you black eyed bitch," Beth returned and pushed all her weight down on the hilt of the knife. She only managed to embed the tip of the knife in Ruby's chest before Sam grabbed the back of her jacket and tossed her backwards. She ended up doing a backwards roll and landing at Dean's feet.

"Just take it easy," Sam ordered as both of his siblings glared at him.

"Well, it must've been some party you two had going," Dean started, helping Beth to her feet, "seeing as you tried so hard to keep us from crashing it. Well, solid try, but here we are."

"Dean, I'm glad you're here," Sam told them after a minute. "Look, let's just talk about this."

"Soon as she's dead, we can talk all you want," Dean replied.

"I second that," Beth added and glared at Ruby.

"Ruby, get out of here," Sam ordered, glancing back at her.

"No. She's not going anywhere."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Beth demanded as Sam stopped her and Dean from going after Ruby.

"She's poison, Sam!"

"It's not what you think," Sam said calmly.

"Look what she did to you!" Dean argued. "She vanishes for weeks at a time and leaves you cracking out for another hit."

"She was looking for Lilith!" Sam shouted back defensively.

"That is French for manipulating your ass 10 ways from Sunday," Dean retorted.

"You're wrong, Dean."

"Sam, you're lying to yourself." Disappointment flashed across Dean's face. "I just want you to be _okay. _You would do the same for me, you know you would."

"Just listen," Sam started, tossing the knife onto the bed. "Just listen for a second. We got a led on a demon close to Lilith. Come with us, Dean, Beth. We'll do this together."

"That sounds great," Dean responded and Beth stared at him in disbelief. Didn't he know that Sam meant with him _and _Ruby? "As long as it's just us three. Demon bitch is a deal-breaker." Beth nodded her agreement, siding with Dean without a second thought. "You kiss her goodbye, we can go right now."

"I can't," Sam sighed.

"The hell you can't!" Beth snapped angrily. "It's not that difficult, you stab her with that knife and we can all forget she ever existed."

"It's not that easy, Beth," Sam disagreed. "I need her to help me kill Lilith. I know you can't wrap your heads round that, but maybe one day you'll both understand. I'm the _only one _who can do this."

"No. You're not the one who's gonna do this," Dean told him firmly.

"Right. That's right, I forgot. The angels think it's you," Sam said mockingly.

"You don't think I can?"

"No, you can't." Sam answered sharply. "You're not strong enough."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm being practical here," Sam explained. "I'm doing what needs to be done."

"Yeah?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "You're not gonna do a single damn thing."

"Stop bossing me around, Dean!" Sam snapped. Beth glanced between her brothers, wondering what had happened the kind, selfless male she had met after waking up in the hospital back in Windom. Whoever this was standing in front of her, it definitely wasn't the Sam she knew and had grown to care about. "Look. My whole life, you take the wheel, you call the shots and I trust you because you're my brother. Now, I'm asking you for once, trust _me_."

"No. You don't know what you're doing, Sam," Dean said finally.

"Yes, I do!" Sam argued.

"Then that's worse!" Dean yelled.

"Why?" Sam asked in confusion. "Look, I'm telling you—"

"Because it's not something that you're doing, it's what you are!" Dean interrupted furiously. "It means…" Dean trailed off.

"What?" Sam demanded, hurt flickering across his face. "No, say it."

"It means you're a monster," Dean continued reluctantly, as if he couldn't believe that the day would come that he would call his brother that. Sam nodded bitterly, tears springing to his eyes. He suddenly drew his arm back and punched Dean in the face, sending him crashing to the floor.

"Dean!" Beth darted to his side and helped him up. A look of anger appeared on his face and he shrugged out of her grip, retaliating with a punch of his own, that sent Sam stumbled backwards.

"Stop it!" she cried as they started fighting each other, trading punches. She let out a strangled gasp as Sam threw Dean face-first against the mirror before sending him crashing through one of the white, criss-crossed pillars. The wood broke under Dean's weight and he landed on the coffee table, shattering the wood and the glass immediately. He lay there, dazed as he coughed weakly. Sam was on top of him seconds later, wrapping his hands around Dean's neck. He squeezed with all his might, ignoring Beth as she screamed at him to let go, his gaze was locked firmly on Dean's slowly reddening face. "Sam!" Beth tugged at his shoulder, trying to get him to free Dean.

Sam suddenly back handed her, sending her tumbling across the room where she tripped over the edge of the bed and landed flat on her back near the window. Sam finally released Dean when Beth sat up and began yelling at him again.

"You don't know me," Sam stated lowly as he rose to his feet. "You never did. And you never will."

"You walk out that door, don't you _ever_ come back," Dean wheezed, a hand pressed against his chest. Sam paused at the door, glancing back at them. Without a word, he opened it, still looking back at them.

"You don't know how far you've fallen, Sam," Beth whispered in disappointment. He glanced at her once before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. She hurried to her feet, rushing over to Dean. He clenched his jaw, rolling over onto his side. "I'm so sorry, Dean," she whispered as she knelt beside him. Dean simply squeezed her knee, resting his forehead against her side.

"We've lost him for good."

That was the last thing either of them said before they fell silent, more interested in being quiet and enjoying each other's company than talking about what had just happened or the brother they'd just lost. The brother Dean had practically raised since they were kids and the one Beth had only known for a few weeks, but already cared deeply about.


	10. Lucifer Rising

_**Sioux Falls, South Dakota**_

_**May 13th, 2009**_

Beth had gone straight to her room the moment they'd returned to Bobby's, leaving Dean to tell the older hunter what had gone down between the three siblings.

She refused to talk to them, only leaving her room when she need to eat or get a drink or use the bathroom. She was standing in the kitchen, staring at the small amount of food in the fridge with dull eyes when Bobby suddenly spoke, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Dean?" he repeated, watching the other male in concern. "You listened to word I said?"

"Yeah, I heard you," Dean answered from the window. "I'm not calling him."

Beth turned her attention back to the fridge and closed the door before settling on an apple from the nearby fruit bowl. She bit into it quietly and chewed slowly as she glanced back at her brother and Bobby.

"Don't make me get my gun, boy," Bobby warned.

"We are damn near kickoff for Armageddon. We got bigger fish at the moment," Dean countered, turning around.

"I know you're pissed, and I'm not making apologies for what he's done, but he's your-"

"Blood? He's my blood? Is that what you're gonna say?"

"He's your brother and he's drowning," Bobby corrected. Beth glanced down at her half eaten apple and tossed it in the trash, not feeling hungry all of a sudden.

"Bobby, I tried to help him. I did. Look what happened."

"So try again."

"No. It's too late," Dean sighed as he walked past Bobby.

"There's no such thing."

"No, dammit!" Dean shouted. "No. We just gotta face the facts. Sam never wanted part of this family. He hated this life growing up. Ran away to Standford first chance he got, now it's like déjà vu all over again." He sat down on a nearby chair. "Well, I am sick and tired of chasing him. Screw him, he can do whatever he wants."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do, Bobby."

"You're a selfish asshole, you that?" Beth suddenly demanded, reminding them that she was in the room and they both turned to her. "Do you have _any idea _what I would give to have my brother back? I would do _anything_. And here you are, complaining about Sam, well at least he's still alive! He may have done terrible things, but he's out there right now with that demon bitch and if you don't do _something, _you're gonna lose him, for good. He's gonna run himself into the ground before you get off your ass and save him!"

Dean looked startled at the lecture he'd just received, but before he could respond to her, she turned on her heel and fled up the stairs. Her door slammed shut a few seconds later with a loud bang that echoed throughout the house.

Beth stared down at the photo in her hands, tears slowly making their way down her face as she stared at the smiling faces of her mom, brother and dad. It was the same photo she'd taken from her house and had lost when Cas zapped her away from the station, it had been left in her brother's truck but suddenly on her pillow when she entered the room.

* * *

"Beth?"

She jumped, surprised at Dean's voice—she hadn't heard him come in. "Dean, what are you doing here?" she sniffed. "Usually when someone storms off and slams their door, it means they don't want to be disturbed."

"Get up," Dean ordered as he stopped in front of her and pulled her to her feet, the photo fell from her hands and landed on a velvet chair behind her.

"What the hell?" She glanced around in shock. She wasn't in her room anymore, instead, she was in a beautiful white room with fancy chairs, a shiny oak dining table and a bunch of paintings strewn about the walls. "Where are we?"

"Hello, Dean." They both spun around to find Cas standing behind them. "Beth."

"Uh, hi?" Beth raised an eyebrow, silently demanding for him to tell them where they were.

"It's almost time," he explained. His arms were hanging awkwardly by his side and he stared at them with an almost pitying look on his face.

"_What?!_"

Beth scowled from her position on the velvet chair as Dean circled the room once again, running his fingers over the pure white table cloth.

"Will you stop?" she grumbled. "You're making me dizzy with your pacing."

Dean rolled his eyes and walked past her, stopping briefly in front of colourful painting on an angel before turning back to the table, to find Beth sitting it and chewing away at a double bacon cheese burger.

"Where did you get that?" he asked cautiously.

"Dunno… it just appeared on the table." She shrugged and went back to eating.

Dean lifted a bottle of ice cold beer from the bowl full of ice and stared at it silently, unaware that an older, balding man in a suit had appeared just to their right.

"Hello, Dean," the man greeted. Beth let out a startled squeak, swallowing her mouthful as she tipped to the side and fell off of the table, landing at the man's feet. Cas squinted down at her, wondering why she had been sitting on the table in the first place. "You're looking fit."

"Well, how about this," Dean chuckled dryly. He leaned down at pulled Beth to her feet. "The suite life of Zach and Cas."

Beth snorted in amusement and quickly covered her mouth, resorting to clearing her throat and looking away from the angels sheepishly. The two angels shared a mutually confused look before looking back at Dean. Beth looked between the two angels, and came to the conclusion that this 'Zach' must be the angel Zachariah that Dean told her about the other day. From what she could gather, he was just a big a dick as the others.

"It's ah… never mind." Dean glanced away awkwardly. "So what is this? Where the hell are we?"

"Call it a Green room," Zachariah replied, spreading his arms away from his body in a deep shrug. "We're closing in on the grand finale here. Wanna keep you safe, before show time." He plucked a burger from the pile and held it out. "Try a burger, they're your favourite."

"Uh, excuse me," Beth said, gaining Zachariah's attention. "I understand why Dean's here, but why am I?"

"We are under orders to protect you as well," Cas explained in his usual, gravelly tone.

"Why?"

"Because, even though you are the bastard child of John Winchester, you hold some 'semblance of importance to our bosses," Zachariah interrupted, sending her a withering stare. Beth flinched at the use of 'bastard child' and Dean tensed, pulling her slightly behind him.

"Don't call her that," Dean ordered lowly.

"Fine. Fine." Zachariah held his hands up in surrender and went back to offering Dean some woman from someplace to amuse him until it was show time.

"Why don't you just tell us the game plan?" Dean demanded.

"Let us worry about that," Zachariah said calmly. "We want you focused, relaxed."

"Well, I'm about to be pissed and leaving, so start talking, chuckles," Dean countered.

"All the seals have fallen," Zachariah admitted, walking around Dean and Beth. "Except one."

"That's an impressive score. Right up there with the Washington Generals," Dean said mockingly.

"You think sarcasm's appropriate, do you? Considering you started all this?"

"Wait, what?" Beth turned on Dean on disbelief. "You started the freakin' _apocalypse_?"

"Not now, Beth," Dean hissed. Zachariah smirked smugly.

"But the final seal," he continued, as though Beth hadn't interrupted. "It'll be different." He clapped Dean on the shoulder on his way back towards Castiel.

"Why?" Dean turned with him, watching him through narrowed eyes.

"Lilith has to break it, she's the only one who can. Tomorrow. Midnight."

"Where?"

"We're working on that."

"Well work harder," Dean snapped.

"We'll do our job. You do yours."

"Yeah, and what is that, exactly? I'm the one that stops her. How? With the knife?"

"All in good time."

"Isn't now a good time?"

"Have faith," Zachariah replied.

"What… _in you_?" Dean raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Give me one good reason why I should."

"Because you_ swore_ your obedience," Zachariah reminded him. "So _obey_."

With that, Zachariah and Castiel disappeared, taking Beth with them and leaving Dean to stare at the empty spot his sister had just been in with worried eyes.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Beth glanced around wildly, her eyes widening as she realized she was now in a room full of people. "Where am I? Where's Dean?"

"Dean is fine," Cas told her, taking a hold of her elbow and leading her towards the group.

"Why am I here?"

"Because you are meant to be," he answered. A woman with blonde hair stood up and approached them. "Because we were told to bring you here."

"Where is here?" Beth asked, eyeing the blonde warily.

"This is… this is an abandoned bar in New Orleans," Cas answered before turning to the blonde woman. "Rachel."

"Castiel," Rachel greeted politely and turned her sharp blue eyes on Beth. "Bethany Milligan."

"Uh, just Beth actually." Castiel released his hold on her elbow and took a step back.

"I have to go now," he explained at her confused look. "Rachel and the others are going to watch you."

"You mean babysit me?" she retorted bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm 18, I don't need to be watched like I'm a child. It's not like I'm gonna break something or play with something I shouldn't."

"Why would you do that?" Cas tilted his head to the side in his overly-confused way before straightening up. Beth rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him before he disappeared from sight.

"So," she turned to Rachel with a wide smile, "what do you guys like to do for fun around here?"

"…Fun?" Rachel repeated, looking at her with a look similar to 'are you for real?' on her face. "We do not have time for fun. The end of days is coming, there is a lot of preparation to be done still."

"Wow. How boring your lives must be," Beth said in pity, ignoring the part about the upcoming apocalypse. "Well, don't worry. I'm gonna teach you guys how to enjoy yourselves."

Rachel stared after her in confusion as Beth headed past the table full of angels and hoisted herself over the bar, fiddling with something under the counter.

The lights in the bar suddenly dimmed as Beth pressed a few buttons attached to a remote under the cash register. She ignored the curious gazes she was receiving and pulled her phone out, plugging it into an extension cable just behind her and setting her music playlist to shuffle. The intro to 'Fighter' by Christina Aguilera filled the bar.

"Now," Beth started as she rested her hands on the counter and leaned forward, a wide grin spreading across her lips, "do any of you know how to dance?"

* * *

Four hours later, when Castiel reappeared to check on Beth, he was surprised to find his brothers; Daniel, Ezekiel, Samandriel and Hadriel playing a game of poker at their table—it appeared that Ezekiel was winning. What surprised him the most was the sight of his sisters; Rachel, Muriel, Nina and Miniel on top of the bar with a semi-drunk Beth dancing away. His sisters' moves were slightly clumsy as they followed Beth's lead.

"Woo!" Beth cheered raising her arms above her head and swaying from side-to-side. "Nice moves, Mini!" she said loudly to the black haired, green eyed angel as the other female spun around successfully without falling off of the bar.

"What is the meaning of this?" Castiel thundered, his voice freezing them on the spot. Beth let out a short laugh, her cheeks aching from all the smiling she'd done that day.

"Relax, Caaaas," she drew his name out with a large grin. "Why don't you join us?"

Castiel snapped his fingers and the music turned off, the lights came back on and the poker chips and cards disappeared. Beth let out a loud groan, mumbling about him being a buzz kill as Rachel, Nina, Muriel and Miniel climbed down and stood as straight as they could, their hands clasped tightly behind their backs, the male angels soon followed their example whilst Beth remained standing on the counter.

"You reaaally need to have more fun," she told him, waggling a finger before gulping down the rest of the whisky.

"Beth, you should come down from there before you get hurt."

"What's the worst that could happen?" she retorted, looking down at him. Cas went to pull her down himself when she yanked her leg out his reach. Everything seemed to slow down as Beth wobbled unsteadily on the edge of the bar and fell backwards. She hit the side of her face roughly against the bar stool on her way down and lay on her side, clutching her face in agony.

"Beth?"

The angels crowded around her, not quite sure what they should do to assist her. She let out a shaky breath, turning slowly onto her back and rising into a sitting position. Cas reached out to her, gently peeling her hand from her face. There was a long cut across her cheekbone and the side of her face was already a bright red.

"I can heal you," he said in confusion as she pushed his hand away and shook her head.

"It's only a cut—it won't kill me," she answered reassuringly, slowly starting to come down from her drunken haze. "Oh, I'm gonna had a killer hangover tomorrow," she groaned, rubbing her forehead.

She took the offered bundle of tissues from Rachel and pressed them against her bleeding cheek. She sent a cheeky smile up at them, increasing their confusion further.

"At least I got you guys to have fun, right?"

"It was fun," Nina—a dirty blonde haired angel with grey eyes—admitted reluctantly, sending a wary glance at Castiel.

"So, why are you here?" Beth asked as she climbed to her feet. "Are you taking me back to Dean?" She looked awfully hopeful, and a strange sensation settled in Cas's gut as he stared at her youthful face.

"I believe that would be best," he replied, "perhaps Dean can keep you from causing any more harm to yourself."

"It was an accident—I didn't deliberately fall off of the bar," she grumbled as she waved goodbye to the angels. Cas was silent as he set his hand on her shoulder. They disappeared from sight immediately afterwards and re-appeared in the Green room.

* * *

"What the hell happened to you?" Dean demanded, cupping her face gently and assessing the bruised side of her face. "What did you do?" he directed at Cas angrily.

"I didn't lay a hand on her, if that's what you're implying," Cas said tersely. "She somehow managed to encourage a group of my siblings to play poker and dance on top of the bar. She fell off of it in her drunken state."

"You… you got angels to drink and play poker?" Dean asked, amusement lighting up his face. "You've gotta tell me how you did it."

"It wasn't that hard, I just said that if it really was the 'end of all days' then they should at least try some human things before paradise comes and no-one has fun anymore."

"That is awesome," Dean chuckled once before turning serious. "Look, I need something," he said to Cas.

"Of course, anything you wish," Cas agreed readily.

"I need you to take me to see Sam."

"Why?"

"There's something I gotta talk to him about."

"What's that?" Cas queried.

"The BM I took this morning, what's it to you?" Dean said sarcastically. "Just make it snappy."

"I don't think that's wise."

"He didn't ask what you thought of it," Beth pointed it. "He asked you to take him to Sam."

"Exactly. I didn't ask for your opinion," Dean added with a frown.

"Have you forgotten what happened the last time you met?" Beth flinched at his cold words and her hands flew up her neck, rubbing her bruised throat gently as she remembered how he strangled her until she was unconscious.

"No," Dean said sharply. "That's the whole point." The room went silent for a moment as Dean and Cas stared at one another and Beth stood awkwardly to the side. "Listen, I'm gonna do whatever you mooks want, okay? I just need to tie up this one thing. Five minutes, that's all I need."

"No," Cas replied. A reluctant expression flickered through his eyes as he stepped backwards. It was clear that he was torn between following his orders and helping them.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Dean asked lowly, a clear warning in his words. "Are you saying that we're trapped here?"

"You can go wherever you want," Cas corrected patiently.

"Super. I wanna go see Sam."

"Except there." Cas stood his ground, obviously not going to budge on the matter.

"I wanna take a walk," Dean returned.

"I'll go with you."

"Alone."

"No," Cas said firmly, his irritation at Dean rising.

"You know what? Screw this noise, I'm outta here." Dean took a hold of Beth's arm and steered her towards the door.

"Through what door?" Cas questioned. They both glanced at him in confusion, wondering what he was going on about. When they turned back around, the door had disappeared, replaced by a wall with a table in front of it holding some lit candles. Cas was gone when Dean spun around to have a go at him.

* * *

"_No. No. No_," Beth whined, her face buried in her knees as she rocked back and forth. Her fingers were tangled in her messy mane of hair.

"Beth?" Dean came over and crouched in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"No doors… no windows." She squeezed her eyes shut. It was like she was back in the crypt all over again. The walls seemed to be closing in on her as she struggled against the oncoming panic attack. "I-I can't breathe. I need to get out!"

Dean grasped her arms tightly as she struck out at him, fear clear in her watery hazel eyes. He drew her forward until her forehead rested against his shoulder and he stroked her hair gently.

"Hey. Hey, it's okay," he reassured her, holding her tightly as she started shaking softly. "I'm gonna get us both outta here, okay?"

She nodded jerkily, her breaths coming out in quick, deep gasps. Dean rubbed her back soothingly, encouraging her to deep breaths and to calm down. Beth's eyes locked on his and she followed his example hesitantly, breathing deeply through her nose. It seemed to work slowly, her chest eventually felt less tight and she found she could breathe normally again.

"Thank you," she whispered. He nodded in response and stood up, looking around silently. He picked up a heavy metal object and began hitting it against the wall, watching as the wood splintered easily under its weight, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. A frown crossed both of their faces when the wall was suddenly whole again, leaving no sign that it had ever been damaged.

"Quit hurling faeces like a howler monkey, would you?" Zachariah queried in exasperation from behind them. "It's unbecoming."

"Let me outta here," Dean demanded. "Let her outta here."

"Like I told you, too dangerous. Demons on the prowl."

"I've been getting my ass kicked all year, now you're sweating my safety?" Dean demanded in disbelief. "You're _lying. _I wanna see my brother."

"That's ill advised," Zachariah cautioned.

"You know, I am so sick of your crap riddles and your smug, fat face," Dean insulted. "What the hell is going on, huh? Why can't I see Sam? And how am I gonna ice Lilith?"

"…You're not… going to ice Lilith," Zachariah replied after a moment of silence.

"Uh, what are you talking about?" Beth piped up, staring at the angel in confusion.

"What?" Dean echoed.

"Lilith's gonna break the final seal," Zachariah unveiled the secret they'd been holding back since the beginning and Beth's expression grew hard, all traces of confusion fading as realization hit her. "_Fait accompli, _at this point. Trains left the station."

He walked away from them and sat down on the white and gold swirl-patterned chaise longue at the other end of the room.

"But, me and Sam—and Beth—we can stop-"

"Dean, they never wanted to stop it… did you?" Beth sent an accusing look at the angel. She couldn't understand why they were doing this, why would they want the apocalypse to happen? Didn't they realize it would roast half the planet—if not all of it—and killing billions of people at the same time?

"Nope. Never did." Zachariah had a smug smile on his face as he looked at Beth's horrified expression. "The end is nigh. The apocalypse is coming, kiddos, to a theatre near you."

"What was all that crap about saving seals?" Dean found himself asking, his eyes stinging at the sensation of tears that he blinked back.

"Grunts on the ground, we couldn't tell them the truth," Zachariah explained, shrugging carelessly, "we'd have a full-scale rebellion on our hands. I mean, think about it—would we really let 65 seals get broken unless senior management wanted it that way?"

"But why?"

"Why not?" Zachariah countered, throwing his hands up. "The apocalypse. Poor name, bad marketing—it puts people off. When all it is, is Ali-Foreman. On a slightly larger scale and we like our chances." His eyes flickered to them. "When our side wins, and we will, it's paradise on Earth, what's not to like about that?"

"What's not to like…?" Beth repeated dumbly, "what about all the _innocent people_ that'll _die_ during your little pissing contest?" she demanded, stealing the words straight from Dean's thoughts.

"You can't make an omelette without cracking a few eggs." Zachariah shrugged and stood up, buttoning up his suit jacket. "In this case, a few truckloads of eggs, but you get the picture." He stepped towards them. "Look, it happens. This isn't the first planetary enema we've delivered."

Dean's eyes flickered to a small, iron statue of an angel playing a trumpet and he was overcome with the urge to hit Zachariah with it.

"No, probably shouldn't try to bash my skull in with that thing," Zachariah warned him. "Wouldn't end up too pleasant for you."

"What about Sam?" Dean asked in defeat, looking away from the statue. "He won't go quietly. He'll stop Lilith."

"…Sam has a part to play," Zachariah explained. "A very important part. He may need a little nudging in the right direction, but I'll make sure he plays it."

"What does that mean?" Dean asked cautiously. Beth walked away from them, running her fingers over the smooth, white table that held the angel statue and stared at it intently, wondering what the odds where that she would be able to grab it and hit the smug bastard that was Zachariah with it. "What are you gonna do to him?"

"Sam, Sam, Sam," Zachariah chanted lowly, "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Forget about him would you? You have larger concerns. Why do you think I'm confiding in you, Dean? You're still vital. We weren't lying about your destiny. Just omitted a few pertinent details, but nothing's changed; you are chosen. You will stop it. Just not Lilith or the apocalypse, that's all."

"Which means?"

"Lucifer," Zachariah began, gesturing towards a painting of an angel slaying the devil. "You're going to stop Lucifer. You're our own little Russell Crowe, complete with surly attitude. And when it's over, and when you've won, your rewards will be unimaginable." He looked back towards the painting. "Peace. Happiness." He hit Dean on the back roughly. "Two virgins and 70 sluts."

"Tell me something," Dean ordered as the angel walked away, "where's God in all this?"

"God?" Zachariah repeated. "God has left the building."

"Wait, what's my role in all of this?" Beth demanded as Zachariah prepared to leave. "You keep saying Sam and Dean are important, but why do you need me?"

"Because, when paradise happens, my older brother will need a vessel to walk the earth in… his _true _vessel," Zachariah explained patronisingly.

"What older brother?" she asked, there had to be at least a million or more siblings that he had.

"Raphael."

* * *

Zachariah disappeared, leaving Beth and Dean standing there uselessly. Beth's mouth was slightly open in surprise at his answer. There was no way she was the true vessel to one of the archangels… was there?

"Cas!" Beth shot to her feet as the dark haired angel appeared. She and Dean had been trapped in that room for who knows how long and she was starting to go crazy. She wanted to leave, to go outside and get some air. "Have you come to help us or what?"

Cas gave her an apologetic look before turning towards Dean, who was searching for a signal for his phone.

"You can't reach him, Dean," Cas told him. "You're outside your coverage zone."

"What are you gonna do to Sam?"

"Good question." Beth's eyes flickered to Cas as she hoisted herself onto the table and crossed her legs, resting her elbows on her knees.

"Nothing," Cas stated. He walked closer. "He's gonna do it to himself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean snorted as he looked away. "Oh right, right. Gotta toe the company line." He stepped towards Cas, getting into the angel's personal space. "Why are you here, Cas?"

"We've been through much together, you and I," Cas started quietly. "And I just wanted to say, I'm sorry it ended like this."

"Sorry?" Beth repeated. She shook her head from her perch a few feet away. "You don't know the meaning of that word."

Dean suddenly drew his arm back and punched Cas in the face. The angel's head snapped to the side and Dean's expression screwed up in pain as he shook his hand out. "It's Armageddon, Cas. You need a bigger word than sorry."

"Try to understand, this is long foretold," Cas urged, an almost desperate look in his blue eyes. "This is your—"

"Destiny?" Dean interrupted furiously. "Don't give me that holy crap. Destiny, God's plan… it's all a bunch of lies, you poor, stupid son of a bitch. It's just a way for your bosses to keep me, and keep you in line."

Cas clenched his jaw, staring at Dean bitterly. Beth rolled her eyes at their little spat and started braiding her hair into a side, fishtail braid.

"You know what's real?" Dean continued, staring Cas in the eye. "People. Families, that's real. And you're gonna watch them all burn?"

"What is so worth saving?" Cas demanded, his full attention on the dark blonde human. "I see _nothing _but _pain_ here. I see inside you. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion. In paradise, all is forgiven. You'll be at peace. Even with Sam."

Cas looked away, his jaw still clenched in anger and Dean followed the movement, regaining Cas's eye contact without difficulty.

"You can take your peace, and shove it up your lily-white ass," Dean said firmly. "Because I'll take the pain and the guilt, I'll even take Sam as is. It's a lot better than being some Stepford _bitch_ in paradise. This is simple, Cas. No more crap about being a good soldier, there is a right and there is a wrong here and you know it." He grabbed Cas by the shoulder roughly and spun him around. "Look at me! You know it! Now, you were going to help me once, weren't you? You were gonna warn me about all this before they dragged you back to bible camp. Help me, now. Please."

Beth watched the exchange curiously, trying to decide if Cas was actually going to help them or continue to stand there and make Dean beg for help.

"…What would you have me do?" Cas asked finally, to Beth's surprise.

"Get me to Sam, we can stop this before it's too late."

"I do that, we will all be hunted," Cas argued, turning to meet Dean's eyes. "We will all be killed."

"Then it'll be worth it," Beth interrupted from her seat on the table. "If us dying to stop the apocalypse is what it takes, then so be it. We'll be saving _billions _of lives in the long run."

Castiel stared at her for a moment, assessing her quietly. The girl he'd been told to watch numerous times throughout her life had changed completely. She was still a coward, deep down, but she knew the difference between right and wrong and she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in, even if it meant standing alone. Her bravery overtaking her fear in difficult situations was something he would unwillingly admit that he found intriguing, admirable, even. He shook his head and had to look away as disappointment spread across her face.

"You _spineless, soulless_ son of a bitch," Dean insulted in irritation, glaring at the angel. "What do you care about dying? You're already dead. We're _done._"

"Dean—" Cas started.

"We're done," Dean repeated, interrupting him.

"You know, I expected more… I expected _better_ from you so called _angels,_" Beth scowled as he turned to look at her. "You heard my brother—we're done with you."

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Beth yelled, glaring at the ridiculously white ceiling. "How long are you bastards gonna keep us here?"

"You can yell as much as you like, they won't answer," Dean chuckled dryly as he picked up a burger. He was about to take a bite out of it when he was suddenly yanked backwards by the back of his coat and the burger slipped from his grasp.

"Cas, what the hell are you doing?" Beth watched in shock as he threw her brother against the wall and covered his mouth.

Cas pulled the demon killing knife from the waistband of his slacks and stared at Dean, conveying with his eyes that the hunter needed to stay quiet. Dean nodded once and Beth quickly caught on as the angel released Dean. He pulled his sleeves up and cut his arm open, using the blood that poured out of it to start drawing some sort of symbol on the wall.

"Castiel," Zachariah said sharply, and Beth spun around to look at him. Cas went back to drawing on the wall. "Would you mind explaining just what the hell you're doing?"

Castiel finished the symbol and slammed his hand down on it. Zachariah let out a shout of pain before he disappeared in a flash of bright light.

"He won't be gone long," Cas told them urgently. "We have to find Sam, now."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. But I know who does," Cas replied, handing the knife to Dean. "We have to stop him, Dean. From killing Lilith."

"But Lilith's gonna break the final seal," Dean argued.

"Lilith _is _the final seal," Cas admitted gruffly. "She dies, the end begins."

Beth's mouth dropped open as she stared at him, not believing what she was hearing. If that was case, and Lilith _was _the final seal, then they needed to find Sam and stop him before it was too late.

* * *

After being zapped from the Green room, Beth found herself standing in between Cas and Dean in an incredibly messy living room. A man was pacing back and forth in front of his computer, and he appeared to be in the middle of a very, _personal _phone call.

He turned around and gaped at them, his eyes wide in surprise. Beth waved once, fighting an amused grin as he glanced at her nervously.

"W-wait. This isn't supposed to happen," the man stuttered. He went back to his phone call, "no, lady, this is definitely supposed to happen, but I just gotta call you back." He hung up and his arm dangled by his side as he watched them closely.

Chuck let out a long sigh and put the phone down before gesturing for the trio to follow him over to the table where a large pile of paper was strewn about. As soon as Dean told him that they were looking for Sam, he pulled a single piece of paper free and handed it off to Dean.

"St. Mary's? What is that, a convent?" Dean asked, glancing up from the paper he was looking at.

"Yeah," Chuck nodded. "But you guys aren't supposed to be there, you're not in this story."

"Yeah, well. We're making it up as we go along," Cas explained. Beth sent a proud look in his direction, grinning as he glanced at her.

A sudden ringing filled the air and Chuck's computer screen flickered twice. Chuck looked towards the window as a bright light shone through it.

"Oh man, not again," he complained.

Beth's eyes were drawn to the light, even as Dean tried to force her head away. She couldn't understand why Dean was telling her not to look, that it would burn her eyes out. The light didn't seem to be affecting her at all, nor was the ringing as it slowly died down and a voice replaced it.

"Bethany Milligan," the voice said. "I should've known you would be with them."

"What?" she asked in response, squinting as the light took on a form that had about 600 wings or more, "why wouldn't I be with them?"

"You need to leave. Now," the voice warned. Dean was trying desperately to get her attention, but her gaze was locked on the figure. "I will not tell you again."

"It's the archangel!" She vaguely heard Cas call from beside her. "I'll hold him off. I'll hold them all off. Just stop Sam."

He pressed his fingers against their heads and Beth got one, last good look at Cas and his slightly fearful expression before they were sent away from Chuck's house and into the dusty hallway of St. Mary's Convent.

* * *

Just up ahead, Sam was standing over a woman—who could only be Lilith—with strawberry blonde hair. Ruby glanced back over her shoulder at them, and smirked sinisterly at them, raising one hand and closing the doors with her powers.

"Sam!" Dean called, banging on the doors as screams filled the air. "Sam!"

"Sam," Beth joined in, tugging uselessly at the door. "You don't have to do this!"

They could both faintly hear Ruby yelling at Sam, telling him to 'do it now' and 'what are you waiting for?' and then a loud, sarcastic laugh sounded from inside the room as they continued banging on the door.

"Dean, when we get in there, Ruby's mine," she said, glancing at him. He had no choice but to nod at the fierce look on his half-sister's face.

Dean picked up a nearby candle holder and began ramming the bottom of it into the door. Beth bit her nail nervously, the lack of screaming was clearly a bad sign. It clearly meant that they were too late—Sam had killed Lilith and now the end was coming.

Dean finally got the door open and they both rushed in, Ruby stood up and turned to face them, a smug grin on her face.

"You're too late."

"I don't care," Dean growled and handed the knife to Beth, who smirked cruelly.

"I've been waiting for this since I first found out about you," she told Ruby calmly. Sam grabbed Ruby from behind, pinning her arms down and giving Beth the perfect opportunity to plunge the knife into Ruby's heart. She twisted it ruthlessly and felt a sick sense of satisfaction as Ruby's skeleton flickered, and she gasped out of pain. Beth yanked the knife out and handed it to Dean as Sam let Ruby's body fall to the floor.

"I'm sorry," Sam told them, voice full of guilt and sorrow.

"We don't have time for that now," Beth said and pointed towards where the circle of blood joined together and a beacon of burning white light burst out of it. Beth cried out, stumbling backwards as she covered her eyes.

"Sammy, let's go." Dean grabbed Sam's arm and reached out, pulling Beth to him.

"Dean," Sam breathed, "he's coming."


	11. Sympathy for the Devil

_**'With the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide.'**_

_**\- Demons, Imagine Dragons.**_

* * *

Beth slumped against Dean, a harsh ringing filled the air and overwhelmed her senses. The light continued to blind her, even after she had covered her eyes. Worry settled in her stomach as something warm and wet trickled from both of her ears.

"Shit, Beth!" Dean cursed as he reached out, pulling her to him after spotting the blood running from her ears. "Sam! Come on!"

Sam seemed to snap out of his trance and nodded quickly, taking hold of Beth's left elbow and helping Dean guide—more like carry—Beth towards the double doors, only to have them slam before they could get out. The two brothers dropped Beth's arms in favour of covering their ears as the ringing grew to an unbearable volume and Beth buried her head in between her jacket's collar and the door as she weakly covered her ears.

"Dean!" Beth called, her voice quickly drowned out by the loud ringing. It was like nails on a chalkboard to her ears. The moment Dean went to reply, the three of them were suddenly out of the convent and on an airplane full of people. "Holy shit," Beth gasped, gaining multiple glares from various women as they covered their children's ears—she completely ignored them.

"What the hell?" Dean demanded. He looked around wildly. He couldn't understand how they'd ended up on the plane when they had been inches away from being smote by Lucifer's grace.

"I don't know," Sam answered, just as surprise.

"Why aren't we dead?" Beth asked. There was an awful ringing in her head and ears, causing her to raise her voice.

"I don't know," Sam repeated. Dean reached out, grabbing a couple of napkins from the stewardess cart as she passed by. He pushed Beth's hair back and began mopping up the blood that was beginning to dry on the sides of her face. Sam took a napkin from his brother and began doing the same to Beth's other ear.

The sound of the pilot filled the air. "Folks, quick word from the flight deck, we're just passing over Ilchester then Ellicott City on our descent into Baltimore—Washington."

"Ilchester?" Dean questioned, glancing out of the window. "Weren't we just there?"

"So, if you'd like to stretch your legs, now would be a good time," the pilot continued. Sam and Beth shared a confused look as the pilot suddenly exclaimed, "Holy crap!" over the speaker... that was when a wide beam of burning white light shot into the air, completely surrounding the plane.

The plane suddenly lurched to the side and a stewardess was thrown against the wall roughly. The passengers all began screaming as the plane soared through the air, completely out of control. Beth scrambled to her feet and stumbled away from her brothers—ignoring them as they yelled at her to come back—and latched onto the blonde stewardess' arm, tugging her to her feet and onto the seats closest to them. Beth helped her with doing her belt up before she did her own up and grabbed the extended oxygen mask in front of her, putting it against her face and slipping the elastic band over her hair, letting it snap into place at the back of her head.

Her eyes were drawn to the window and she stared out of it at the light. Fear coiled in the pit of her stomach the longer she stared at it, her fingers tightened unconsciously around the arm rest as she forced herself to look away.

* * *

To say she was happy they were off the plane was an understatement—in fact, she made a quick promise to herself to never get on a plane ever again.

Sam and Dean were in the front of the 'borrowed' car and Beth was in the back lying down, her feet against the window behind Sam's seat and her head was cushioned on her leather jacket.

Her brothers were completely silent as they listened to the radio and Beth just blocked it out, humming quietly under her breath as she began to wonder what had happened to Castiel in his face-off with the archangel. She really hoped that he was okay, she didn't want to deal with the guilt of having encouraged him to stand on his own two feet for a change and then winding up dead.

She glanced up just as Sam began speaking but Dean was quick to cut him off. She rolled her eyes, already knowing what her brother was going to say.

"Don't say anything." Dean looked at his brother. "It's okay."

Beth scoffed lightly under her breath, but they both heard it and turned to look at her, causing her to flush deeply and grow uncomfortable at the sudden attention.

"Something you wanna share princess?" Dean questioned lowly.

"Nope." She shook her head. They looked away after a few drawn out seconds.

"We just gotta keep our heads down and hash this out, alright?"

"Okay," Sam said at the same time as Beth chirped, "yes sir."

"First things first, how did we end up on the soul plane?" Dean asked.

"Angels, maybe?" Sam offered. "Maybe they were beaming us out of harm's way."

"Well, whatever. It's the least of our worries. We need to find Cas."

"I hope he's okay," Beth sighed and Dean glanced back at her.

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"Because he went up against an archangel; the strongest type of angel there is," Beth explained quietly, "it'll be a miracle if he's survived."

* * *

A few days later saw them back at Chuck Shurley's house—which looked as though a bomb had gone off. Furniture and glass and wood were strewn about the living room and the kitchen and there were drops of blood on a few pieces of broken wood.

Beth let out an amused—and surprised—snort as Chuck appeared from behind the door and hit Sam roughly in the head with a plunger, causing her overly-tall brother to stagger to the side in a daze.

"Ow! Jeez!" Sam exclaimed, holding his head in pain.

"Sam?" Chuck lowered the plunger in relief.

"Hey Chuck," Dean greeted. Beth waved, still amused at the Prophet's actions.

"You okay?" Chuck asked.

"Well, my head hurts," Sam replied.

"No. I mean my last vision," Chuck explained. "You went like full-on Vader. Your body temperature was 150, your heart rate was 200. Your eyes were black."

"Your eyes were black?" Dean repeated, dumbfounded.

"I didn't know," Sam excused quietly.

"Hey Chuck, where's Cas?" Beth queried, hoping beyond belief that the angel was alive, even though she knew there was a high chance he wasn't.

"He's dead... or gone. The archangel smote the crap out of him."

"Are you sure? Maybe he just vanished into the light." As Beth glanced at Dean, she realized that he didn't want to believe that the _one_ angel who would've _willingly_ helped them was gone.

"No," Chuck sighed, gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke, "he exploded... like a water balloon of chunky soup."

A look of disgust made its way onto her face as Sam told Chuck that he had something in his hair and he pulled a bloody tooth out and held it up to the light.

"Is that a molar?" Chuck's voice rose an octave in his panic. "Do I have a molar in my hair?" Dean looked away, fighting his own disgust. "This has been a really stressful day," Chuck gasped out.

"Cas, you stupid bastard," Dean sighed bitterly.

"Stupid? He was trying to help us," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, exactly," Dean replied lowly.

"He should never have listened to us," Beth whispered, blinking back tears.

"Oh crap," Chuck said, gaining their immediate attention.

"What is it?" Beth stepped closer to him.

"I can feel them," Chuck whispered and the words sent shivers down her spine.

"Thought we'd find you here." Beth pressed her lips together at the familiar voice and her eyes narrowed at the sight of Zachariah and two other men—who were obviously angels too. "Play time's over, Dean," Zachariah told the oldest Winchester. "Time to come with us."

"You keep your distance, asshat," Dean ordered as Zachariah made to step forward.

"You're upset," the angel said in confusion or surprise, Beth didn't know. But the look on his face suggested that Zachariah didn't understand why Dean felt the way he did.

"Yeah, a little," Dean retorted without pause, shifting Beth behind him to stand beside Chuck. "You sons of bitches jump-started judgement day."

"Well actually, they technically didn't start it." Beth almost lost her nerve as all eyes turned to her. "But they _did _let it happen."

"For once the bastard girl knows where it's at," Zachariah said smugly, taking pleasure in the girl's discomfort and hurt.

"On second thought, it's _entirely _their fault," Beth stated, sticking her tongue out at the angel. "We should continue to blame them."

"Silence." Zachariah waved his hand and Beth suddenly found herself unable to speak. She grasped her throat in confusion, glaring accusingly at the angel. He simply smirked and turned back to Dean. "You had the chance to stop Sammy, but you couldn't. So let's not argue, say we're all to blame and move on. Because, whether you like it or not, it's apocalypse now."

Beth—who was still unable to talk—made a rude gesture at Zachariah as he looked away. Sam roughly grabbed her arm and yanked her hand down abruptly, causing her to wince.

"...And we're back on the same team again," the angel continued.

"Oh really?" Dean queried, mock surprised.

"You wanna kill the devil, we want you to kill the devil—it's synergy."

"And I'm supposed to trust you?" Dean shot a wink at Beth, who stared back in confusion. "Cram it with walnuts ugly."

Beth bit back a noise of amusement and waved awkwardly as the two other angels glanced at her. The one on the left seemed to have a curious look—directed at her—in his dark green eyes before it disappeared.

"This isn't a game, son," Zachariah said sternly. "Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike hard and fast before he finds his vessel."

Her lips parted in a silent gasp of surprise and she glanced towards her brothers—they were clearly as surprised as she was at Zachariah's statement.

"His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?" Sam sounded stumped. Beth slapped her forehead her palm, mentally scolding him. _Wasn't it obvious? _Of course Lucifer needed a vessel he_ was _an angel after all.

"That's right," Zachariah confirmed, "he _is _an angel. And when he touches down, we're talking four horsemen, red oceans, and fiery skies... the greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean, but you need our help."

Dean was silent for a split second and then he said. "You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did, I don't want jack-squat from you."

"You listen to me, boy!" Zachariah bellowed, suddenly furious. "You think you can rebel, against us? As Lucifer did?" He just happened to glance down and realize Dean was bleeding. "...You're bleeding."

"Oh yeah," Dean smirked and Sam and Beth almost failed at hiding their own identical smug expressions. "A little insurance policy in case you dicks decided to show up." He pulled the sliding door open to reveal a banishing sigil on the dirty white wood. Zachariah let out a yell as Dean slammed his hand down on the wood, sending the angels straight back to heaven. "I learned that from Cas, you son of a bitch."

"This sucks ass," was all Chuck uttered as they looked at him.

* * *

On a bench, in the middle of a large park, sat two men. The older of the two had dark hair, blue eyes and pale skin, whilst the younger one had dark hair, dark skin and dark brown eyes.

"Those humans are more trouble than they're worth," the younger one said flatly. They watched—unconcerned—as Dean Winchester banished three of their younger brothers from the Prophet's house and back to Heaven.

"Unfortunately, they are key parts in Father's plan," the elder angel replied. The mouth of his self-created vessel spreading into a thin line.

"Indeed."

A bright light filled the air and soon, Zachariah stood in front of them, swaying slightly on his feet—an unfortunate side effect of being banished was the brief yet uncomfortable feeling of dizziness.

"Zachariah," the oldest angel greeted, his voice like rumbling thunder.

"Archangel Michael." Zachariah bowed his head quickly, nervously. "Archangel Raphael."

"You've failed... _again,_" Michael stated bluntly. The seraph flinched—he already knew that he had failed his brother a second time.

"In my defence, Dean Winchester is more stubborn than I had initially given him credit for," Zachariah began carefully. "And that bastard girl is a menace; she's always interrupting, full of questions that do not concern her... and she's a bad influence on Dean. He won't agree to anything with her around to stop him."

Michael and Raphael shared a quick look, knowing full well that their brother's words were true—they'd all underestimated the Winchester siblings and their legendary stubbornness. And Beth Milligan was most definitely a problem. The 18 year old was always following Dean around like a little lost puppy, filling his head with reasons not to agree to helping heaven win and there was also her annoyingly persuasive nature—no one else would've been able to convince sons and daughters of God that indulging in gambling and drinking copious amounts of alcohol was a good thing. It most certainly wasn't—it was such a lowly, _human _thing to do. It was a disgrace for the likes of an angel to do such a thing.

"Unfortunately we cannot grant you permission to kill her," Raphael said lowly. "However, you may have fun with her as you wish. But leave no permanent damage."

"Of course," Zachariah nodded. "What of the other two?"

"The same applies to them," Michael input, a hint of finality in his voice.

"Yes boss." Zachariah bowed at them before vanishing from sight.

"He makes a good point, brother," Michael began, "what will you do if Bethany Milligan becomes too much of a liability?"

"If she _does _become a liability, I will move to plan B... and _kill_ Bethany Milligan."

* * *

"Would you turn that down?" Beth grumbled, glancing at the blaring TV distastefully.

"No can do, princess," Dean grinned cheekily as he turned the volume up. Sam chuckled as Beth picked up her empty burger wrapper and lobbed it at Dean, it bounced off of his forehead and onto the floor.

A semi-loud knock sounded from the door, reverberating around the room and the smiles fell from their faces. Dean pulled his gun out, sitting up slowly.

"If that's how you greet people, it's no wonder you don't have friends," Beth snorted and Dean glared at her, flipping her off. "_Hmph. _Rude."

Sam opened the door slowly and Beth heard a sharp intake of breath. She moved over to Dean's side the second he beckoned her closer with a wave of his hand.

"You okay lady?" Sam questioned.

"Sam. Is it really you?" a feminine voice gasped. A woman with shoulder length blonde hair stepped into the room and set her hand on Sam's chest. "You're so firm."

"...Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you." She removed her hand slowly. "You're Sam Winchester and you're... not what I pictured," she said after looking at Dean. And then she caught sight of Beth. The brunette let out a yelp of surprise as she was pulled into a vice tight hug by the strange woman. "Bethany Winchester! What an honour!" the woman babbled excitedly. "I can't believe you're actually _real_... I can't believe I'm _actually_ meeting you."

"Uh, it's Milligan, actually." Beth didn't know what else to say as she was finally released from the bear hug.

"Oh right, silly me," the blonde said in a high voice. "I'm sorry about your brother—it was a horrible way to die... and your mom too."

Beth immediately grew tense, fighting back the sting of tears in her eyes. Dean got to his feet and slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

"I'm Becky, by the way," the blonde introduced herself in an attempt to diffuse the tension. "I've read all about you guys and I've even written a few..." Becky trailed off, laughing nervously. "Anyway, Mr Edlund told me where you were."

"Chuck?" Dean finally entered the conversation.

Sam closed the door as Becky nodded in confirmation. "He's got a message, but the angels are watching him." She grinned rather enthusiastically. "Nice change up to the mythology—the demon stuff was getting kinda old."

"Fair point," Beth agreed and Becky's smile widened. "What's Chuck's message?"

"He had a vision," Becky explained. "The Michael-Sword is on earth—the angels lost it."

"The Michael-Sword?" Dean asked in confusion. Beth's eyes widened, she knew immediately what The Michael-Sword was.

"Becky, does Chuck know where this sword is?"

"In a castle on a hill made of 42 dogs," Becky recited, as if she'd said it so many times, it was stuck in her head.

"42 dogs?" Dean repeated, raising his eyebrows.

"Are you sure you got that right?" Sam asked politely.

"It doesn't make sense, but that's what he said." Becky ran her hand up Sam's chest. "I memorized every word... for _you._"

"Uh... Becky, can you quit touching me?" Sam requested, glaring at Beth as she laughed, clearly finding his discomfort to be amusing.

"No." Becky refused flat-out.

"We should call Bobby," Beth said to Dean when she had stopped laughing.

"Good idea," Dean agreed. Beth turned her back on them, writing her cell phone number down quickly as Becky said her goodbyes to Sam and Dean.

"Hey, I'll walk you out," Beth smiled at the overly-hyper Becky.

"Be careful," Dean ordered. Beth nodded, smiling reassuringly.

"C'mon Becky."

Becky smiled dreamily up at Sam before snapping out of her trance and waving at Dean, who nodded in response. She closed the door behind her and followed Beth towards the stairs.

"It was nice meeting you," Beth said honestly as she walked Becky down the stairs and towards a light blue car.

"Right back at ya," Becky beamed.

"Oh, here." Beth handed her the piece of paper with her number on it. "In case Chuck has any more messages for us."

Becky took the paper and stuck it in her pocket before hugging Beth tightly around the neck.

"You be careful, okay?" Beth patted her back gently. "Don't go telling anyone about us, I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't, don't worry." Becky pulled away with the same wide grin on her face.

Beth stayed where she was, watching with a smile as Becky got into her car, turning it on and driving away. She continued to wave until the car had disappeared from sight.

As soon as she turned, heading for the stairs, she was hit from behind by an unseen force that pushed her over, knocking her flat on her face at the bottom step.

* * *

"Hey Bobby." Beth waved from the bed as Dean ushered the older hunter into the room.

"Heya Beth," Bobby replied, tipping his baseball cap at her. "It's good to see you all in one piece." He hugged Dean and moved onto Sam.

"You weren't followed, were you?" Dean questioned.

"You mean by angels, demons or Sam's new super-fan?" Bobby replied.

"You heard?" Sam chuckled dryly.

"I heard, Romeo," Bobby said teasingly, a smirk on his face. He turned to Dean. "So, Sword of Michael, huh?"

"You think we're talking about the Sword from the _Archangel_?" Dean's eyes flickered between his siblings and surrogate father.

"You better friggin' hope so," Bobby retorted. He left to go get some book from the Impala and when he returned, he dropped a thick, brown book on the table with a thud, opening it to a page with a picture of a blonde angel carrying a sword, surrounded by cherubs. "That's Michael; toughest son of a bitch they've got," the more experienced hunter explained.

"You kidding me—tough? Guy looks like Cate Blanchett," Dean snorted, causing Beth to grin in amusement.

"I wouldn't want to meet him a dark alley, believe me." Beth couldn't help but shiver at Bobby's words—she wouldn't want to meet _any _angel in a dark alley. "He commands the heavenly host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he—"

"He used that sword to cast Lucifer into hell," Beth interjected. Bobby nodded, confirming her words. "What?" she snapped defensively at Sam and Dean's surprised looks. "I know my bible lore. I _was _interested in it as a child."

"Beth's right, and it we can find the sword..."

"We can beat him all over again," Sam summed up. "Where so we start?"

Beth grabbed a book and handed it to Dean before grabbing one for herself and holding another out to Sam, who stopped beside her, an unsure look on his face.

"You alright, Sam?" Bobby asked in concern.

"No actually," Sam answered, turning to him. Dean knew immediately what Sam was planning and shook his head in exasperation, wondering—not for the first time—why his brother couldn't leave things well enough alone. "Bobby, this is all my fault. I'm sorry."

"Sam, button it," Beth hissed, eyes flickering nervously between them.

"Lilith didn't break the final seal. Lilith _was _the final seal," Sam continued as if he hadn't heard her.

"Sam, stop," Dean ordered.

"I killed her and I set Lucifer free," Sam admitted.

"You what?" Bobby demanded incredulously.

"You guys warned me about Ruby, the demon blood; I didn't listen."

"You're damn right you didn't listen," Bobby snapped, approaching him slowly, disappointment written across his face. "You were _reckless, selfish _and _arrogant._"

"I'm sorry," Sam said quietly.

"Oh yeah?" Bobby glared at him. "You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, _boy._" Sam looked down, welcoming the verbal bashing with open arms—it was more than he'd gotten from his brother or half-sister so far. "If—by some miracle—we pull this off... I want you to lose my number."

"Bobby!" Beth gasped, completely horrified by his harsh words. She looked to Dean, but he simply turned away, refusing to come to Sam's defence.

"There's an old church nearby," Sam started, a glassy sheen covering his eyes. "Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there."

"Yeah, you do that."

Sam quickly pulled his jacket on, grabbing his phone, wallet and gun as he moved towards the door. Beth made to move towards him but was stopped abruptly as Dean grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her to him.

"It's fine, Beth."

Sam closed the door behind quietly. Beth yanked her arm free and proceeded to kick Dean roughly in the leg. He simply rubbed his aching limb and refused to look at her.

* * *

"I would never have guessed your daddy was right," Bobby stated as he looked away from the lore book he was reading.

"About what?" Dean asked, still half-absorbed in his own book.

"About your brother." Dean stiffened, his eyes flickering to Bobby. "What John said was 'save Sam or kill him'. Maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe we shouldn't have tried so hard to save him," Bobby admitted reluctantly.

"Bobby..."

"He ended the world, Dean," Bobby pointed out gently. "And you and I weren't there to stop him proper—that's on us... I'm just saying that your dad was right."

"Dad?" Something seemed to hit Dean and got up, grabbing his duffel bag and opening it quickly. He pulled a piece of card from a plastic wallet and held it up in satisfaction. "I don't believe it," he chuckled. "It's a card from my dad's lock-up in upstate New York. Read it."

"Castle Storage, 42 Rover Hill."

"Castle on a hill of 42 dogs," Dean explained.

"You think your dad had the Michael-Sword all this time?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure what else Chuck could've meant."

"Good enough for me," Bobby said just before he punched him roughly, knocking him flat on his back.

* * *

As Bobby picked Dean up, the door opened to reveal a widely smirking Beth and a tall, bald man in a leather jacket.

"B-Beth?" Dean wheezed. Beth's eyes flickered from hazel green to black as she grinned.

"I always knew you were a big, dumb, pain in the ass, Dean," she chuckled. "But I never knew you were VIP." She walked further into the room and picked up the demon killing knife. "I mean _you're _gonna ice the devil? _You_?" she snorted in amusement. "If I had known, I would've ripped your face off ages ago." The black bled from her eyes, revealing the familiar hazel irises as she stared at him.

"Ruby?" Dean gasped.

"Guess again," Beth sing-songed. "Go back further... _No?_" she asked mockingly when he didn't answer. "Let me give you a hint—I fell from a great height and it _hurt._"

"Meg," Dean growled in realization. "Let Beth go."

"Nah, I don't think I will," Meg tapped her chin with her index finger. "You should hear her though—she's _screaming, begging, _for someone to help her. She's a right mess. She blames herself, you know? For what happened to her precious twin and her mommy. She still has nightmares about the ghouls... and of the people she's killed." At Dean's shocked look, a gleeful smile appeared on Beth's—Meg's face. "You didn't know? Little Beth-y's soul is tainted now. When she was with the cloud hopping pansy, she killed a bunch of demons and their meat suits... it's kinda ironic, don't you think? How she killed all those innocent humans who were begging to be released and now she's in their shoes."

Dean simply glared at her and she winked in response, taking pleasure in Dean's discomfort.

"But onto more _important _things, our father is here, Dean. And we're dreaming for the first time since we were human. It's heaven on earth... or hell," she shrugged carelessly—a very Beth-y action. "We owe your brother a fruit basket, 'cause without him father dearest would still be rotting in that damn cage."

Dean couldn't stand looking at her, knowing that he couldn't do anything to help Beth, not when he was on his own and there was three of them. It wouldn't be a very even fight.

"You really like the sound of your own voice, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. But I like Beth's better... in fact, I might just keep this body," Meg countered. "You're just a bump in the road, Dean. _Every _demon is eager to get a piece of you."

Dean chuckled dryly, wincing as Bobby tightened the hold he had on his neck. "Get in line."

"I'm right at the front of the line, hot stuff," Meg assured him. "You know, your surrogate daddy's still in there, screaming—mainly profanities—but screaming none-the-less. And I want him to know how it feels to slice the life out of you." She handed the knife to Bobby.

"Bobby!" Dean grunted as he was shoved up against the wall and the knife pressed against his neck. "Bobby, no. _No!_" Bobby glanced back at Meg and the other male and Meg narrowed her eyes. "Now!" she ordered. Dean raised his arms to protect his face only to be taken off guard as Bobby stabbed himself, killing the demon possessing him.

Dean strode forward and punched Meg roughly, knocking her to the floor. The door opened and Sam walked in just as Dean was thrown into the wall. When he went to assist his brother, he received a hit in the face with a telephone.

"Heya Sammy," Meg grinned. "Did ya miss me?"

"Beth?" Sam asked, confused and dazed.

"Sam, its Meg!" Dean called and Meg let out a girly laugh, nodding her head. Sam struck out at her, seeming to forget that he was actually hurting Beth's body. Meg immediately hit back, kicking Sam in the stomach and knocking all the air from his lungs, causing him to double over at the waist.

"It's not so easy without your super-special powers, is it, Sammy?" she taunted, grabbing his hair and tugging his head backwards. She turned her attention away from Sam as Dean got the upper hand on her demon companion and stabbed him, killing him instantly. Meg stood up and backed away, fully aware that she was now outnumbered but hoping that they cared enough about her meat suit to not harm her.

She quickly decided not to test that theory and threw her head back, fleeing Beth's body as the human girl screamed, feeling the agonizing pain of the demon evacuating the host.

Dean watched on impassively as the black smoke disappeared into the vent and Beth's body collapsed, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

* * *

"How ya doing princess?" Dean asked carefully, staring at the vacant expression on Beth's ghostly white face.

"Fine," she said airily. "How's Bobby?"

"They took him to surgery before we left. I don't know if he's gonna be okay," Dean admitted.

Beth was only half listening to what he had to say, she was still caught up in the fact that she had had an _actual demon _possessing her, just like the way angels possessed their vessels, but she imagined that the angels would be a more suitable companion because Meg had made sure that she could feel every hit she landed on Sam and the blood that spread across her knuckles and it wasn't something she wanted to experience again.

"Don't you have to go to New York?" she queried.

"You not coming?"

"I can't. I twisted my ankle when you hit me," she replied quietly. "And I don't want to go on a road trip. I wanna sit here quietly and be by myself."

"Beth," Dean hesitated. "What Meg said... was she telling the truth?"

Tears sprung to Beth's eyes as she nodded twice. She drew her knees to her chest, leaning forward against her thighs as she covered her face with her hands. Dean sighed softly and sat on the bed beside her, drawing her into his side.

"It's okay," he whispered.

"It's not okay," she argued tearfully. She lifted her head and peeked at him through her hair. "I killed people and I didn't even hesitate. Meg's right—my soul is tainted now. I'm going straight to hell, aren't I?"

"No, Beth. You're not going to hell," Dean said firmly. "I _won't _let you."

"I don't think you can stop it, Dean." She let out a small whimper. "Killing damages the soul; it damns it straight to hell."

"Beth, I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise."

And he meant it. For as long as he was around, no harm would come to her. He would protect his 18 year old half-sister to the best of his ability. And the first he would do when he and Sam got back from New York was take her out to get the anti-possession tattoo.


	12. Goodbye, I Love You

So it turns out the Castiel was alive and currently searching for God and Dean and Sam had gone to River Pass, Colorado and fought what they assumed were demons but were actually just humans under the influence of War, The Horseman. Beth had stayed behind with Bobby, refusing to leave the older man's hospital room.

Sam and Dean hadn't said anything but she knew that they knew why she was all-of-a-sudden latching onto Bobby. It was because Bobby had also been possessed and she felt as though he understood—better than Sam and Dean—what she was going through. But she didn't know that Sam had also been possessed by Meg in the past. If she did, she probably would've been more willing to talk to him.

Her brothers had also come to the incredibly stupid decision to split up and go their separate ways.

That was almost two months ago. Dean was hunting shape-shifters in New Orleans and Sam was God-knows-where while Beth had chosen to remain behind and become Bobby's live-in caretaker. The old man complained that she was 'babying him' but she knew that he secretly enjoyed having somewhere there to look after him for a change, especially when Beth had also become his cook, making home-made meals instead of the ready cooked meals from the grocery store.

Beth was also ignoring her brothers, deciding that as long as they acted like little kids and remained apart—despite knowing they were obviously stronger together—then she was going to avoid them and ignore their calls.

She was, however, keeping in touch with Castiel. After spending brief periods of time with him, she'd come to the conclusion that he wasn't as bad as she'd originally thought. She was actually kind of glad he was alive, because the guilt she had felt after he had betrayed his family for them, had _died_ for them wasn't something she wanted to experience again.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Beth asked for the fourteenth time, walking towards the door with a duffel bag in hand.

"I'll be fine," Bobby grumbled. He wheeled himself after her slowly, taking note of her torn expression. "You need to do this."

"I know, I just… please be careful," she sighed.

"Beth, I've been taking care of myself since before you were born, I'll be fine," he replied in fond exasperation.

"I'll call you when I get there." She opened the door and hesitated before turning and hugging him quickly are the neck. "See ya Bobby." She closed the door behind her and ran across the path to Adam's—to her truck and hopped in, throwing her bag in the backseat.

"Idjit," Bobby snorted. He turned and rolled back towards the living room. "You keep an eye on her, ya hear?"

"You have my word." The flapping of wings filled the room and the dark haired male disappeared from sight.

* * *

"Bethany," Castiel greeted, appearing beside her.

"Holy shit!" Beth yelped and jerked on the wheel. The car continued to swerve to the side until she managed to regain control of the truck. "What the hell, Cas?" She slapped him on the arm.

"Why did you just strike me?" he asked, frowning.

"You scared the crap out of me, that's why!"

"…My apologies," he said sincerely after a brief pause.

"It's fine. Just _please, _don't do that again." She glanced at him curiously. "Why are you here?"

"Bobby asked me to watch over you."

"Of course he did," she grumbled, irritated. "I can take care of myself."

Castiel squinted at her, a frown making its way onto his face as he peered at her face intently. Beth, feeling his unwavering stare, peeked at him from the corner of her eye.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Your soul… it practically radiates sadness and fear," he explained lowly. "…What's the matter?"

Beth immediately stiffened and fixed her gaze on the road in front of her. Her heart thudded so loudly in her chest that she was sure he could hear it. She felt sick to her stomach, knowing that he could sense something was wrong.

"It, uh, it's nothing," she cleared her throat awkwardly.

"That's not true," he said quickly in response.

"…I'm going to see my mom. To say goodbye," she admitted looking over at him. "And I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Knowing that I'll never see or hear her again," Beth whispered, tears springing to her eyes, blurring her vision. "I'll never get to be with my twin again."

A strange weight settled in Cas' stomach as he watched the human girl crumble and salty tears make their way slowly down her cheeks. He slowly reached out and took her hand in his, noting the difference between the two limbs after a few seconds; his was larger with callouses from years of Jimmy working hard and Beth's was smaller, more delicate with long slender fingers. Her skin was a light olive and his was creamy white.

Beth flinched in surprise at the sudden touch and Castiel faltered, about to release her when her fingers weaved between his and she held on for dear life.

* * *

_**Windom Minnesota**_

_**Two days later.**_

"You don't have to stay," Beth pointed out, closing the motel door behind Cas.

"I promised Bobby," Cas replied gruffly. "And Dean…"

"What about him?"

"Dean wanted me to check in on you every so often," he explained, "to make sure you were okay."

Beth let out an annoyed growl at his words, clearly no-one thought she was capable of taking care of herself. "Whatever, I'm going for a shower." She grabbed a towel from the shelf next to the bathroom and paused in the doorway, glancing towards the angel. "Why don't you watch TV? I'm gonna be about 20 minutes at least."

"I don't… I don't know how it works."

"Oh. That's no problem—I'll just show you." Beth gave a brief summary or how it worked and left him to it, locking the door behind her.

She turned the shower on and stripped down before climbing into in the shower and stepping into the path of the burning hot water.

* * *

**(25 minutes later)**

Beth found herself in a bit of a situation. She'd forgotten to take a clean set of clothes into the bathroom with her and now she didn't know what to do, especially with Cas in the next room. She knew she could just ask him to pass some clothes through to her, but that meant he'd have to go through her private belongings and it would undoubtedly make them both uncomfortable.

"This is ridiculous," she mumbled under her breath, pulling on her underwear and wrapping the towel tightly around her. She opened the door and peeked out—Cas was still in the same spot she'd left him in, perched on the edge of the bed, completely entranced in a cooking show that was on.

Beth took a deep breath, pushing her damp hair over her shoulder and stepping into the main room, heading straight for her duffel bag.

The moment she entered the room, Cas' attention was drawn to her, zooming in on her bare, smooth looking legs and moving slowly upwards until his eyes rested on the anti-possession tattoo on the front of her right shoulder, just under her collarbone. When she shifted, he caught sight of a small cross tattooed on the back of her neck, hidden slightly by her long hair.

She turned suddenly, looking up and quickly realizing that he was staring at her. She flushed deeply under his intense gaze and cleared her throat, picking her clothes up and fleeing back to the safety of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

_**Lakeview Cemetery**_

_**Windom, MN**_

"Where is your mother?"

"I asked around and they said she's right at the other end of the cemetery," Beth explained quietly. She'd decided to wear black clothing that afternoon, she was going to have a mini funeral of her own to say goodbye to her mom in peace. She wore a black camisole with spaghetti straps underneath a long sleeved, see-through black sweater, a pair of slim fitting skinny jeans and her Doc Marten boots. She continued to lead the curious angel along the path situated in between headstones.

Castiel peered around his surroundings in open curiosity, reading the words written on a pure white marble headstone a few feet away from them. "What's that supposed to be?" he questioned, squinting at a large slab of grey stone.

"It's an angel statue," Beth replied.

"That's not what we look like."

"Yeah well. That's just what we imagine your kind to look like… what does your actual form look like?"

"We're approximately the size of your Chrysler building. We all have one set of wings, apart from the Seraphs, they have two sets of wings. Our halos are bronze and silver. The archangels' halos are gold and even larger than ours and they have 3 sets of wings."

"Wow. That's amazing," she breathed. "I wouldn't believe you if I hadn't seen Raphael's true form back at Chuck's house."

"Michael is even larger than Raphael—his wings are almost as magnificent as Lucifer's once were."

'Wow.' Beth mouthed, completely intrigued at the idea of Michael's wings. She stopped walking after a few seconds and stared down at the freshly dug—and covered up—grave where he mom was buried.

"Are you alright?" Castiel asked awkwardly, hovering behind her.

"No. I'm not alright," she whispered. Her knees trembled and she quickly knelt down, afraid that she would fall over if she wasn't careful.

"I'll give you some privacy," Cas told her and walked a few feet away to sit on a bench.

Beth watched him go silently, thanking him for somehow knowing that she needed to be alone. She hesitantly turned back to the grave.

"Hey mom," she started quietly, staring at the black marble headstone. 'Katharine Hollie Milligan. 21st June 1957 — 15th April 2009.' Was written in bold golden letters along with the words 'Loving mom, sister and daughter.' Beth set the single lily she had down on the grass and sniffled, biting back a sob. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, but I've been busy. I have two half-brothers called Sam and Dean—they hunt monsters. Yeah, I know by now you'd be telling me not to be so silly, that monsters aren't real… but they are. So are angels and demons and God. I don't think the last one would give you any comfort, apparently He's missing and the angels run the show—have done for a long time now."

She swallowed deeply, running her fingers over the small strands of grass that peeked up out of the dirt. Her heart felt as though was someone was squeezing it to the point she couldn't breathe.

"I-I just want you to know that I love you and I miss you. So much. I wish you were here." Beth's lip trembled abruptly. "I don't know what I'm doing mommy. I'm not ready to live without you—you were supposed to be around for a long time. You were meant to be here for all the important things, like when I have my first kiss or my first boyfriend or when I finally get married and settle down to have children… there's so much you're gonna miss—you and Adam. I miss him so much too, he was my other half. 'One soul split in half' is what you called us, we always knew where the other one was and what either of us were thinking."

A small group of birds flew overhead, their wings flapping madly to keep them up in the air. She watched them go with sad eyes, wishing for the life of her that she could just take off like them, fly to some unknown place and escape from her pain and misery.

"I-I hope you're happy in heaven… I don't know what it's like up there, but I bet you're partying the night away. Don't get too carried away though, I don't want to hear of you getting into any trouble when I come to join you… _if _I join you, that is," she said the last part quietly.

Beth wiped away the tears on her cheeks and stood, glancing at Castiel as he stood as well and walked back to her side. She stared up at him in silence for a moment before eventually looking back at her mom's grave.

"I guess this is it for a while. I'm gonna be pretty busy, end of the world and all. I should probably call Sam and Dean when I get back. Goodbye, mom. I love you."

Castiel raised his hand and brushed her hair behind her ear—a move he'd learned from watching numerous human couples—and she started, looking at him wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry," he said stiffly. His hand fell away from her face. Beth shook his apology off mutely.

She turned her head, gaze lingering on the gravestone. Taking in the small picture that contained her mom's beautiful, smiling face. Beth let out a sudden sob, tears stinging her eyes—she'd only just realized that her mom was _truly _gone. She was _never _coming back. Before, she hadn't _really _come-to-terms with her mom's death, she kept expecting her mom to just walk in and it would be as though nothing had happened. But it really hit her now. She finally knew it would never happen.

Her body moved of its own accord, slotting herself in front of Castiel and winding her arms around his neck. She cried heavily into the collar of his trench coat, staining it a deeper beige colour. Castiel immediately stiffened, unsure of what to do. He quickly recalled the situation in the hospital when he'd met up with Sam, Dean and Bobby again and Beth had tackled him in a similar manner… only that time she hadn't been weeping as though she'd lost a part of her heart.

He slowly raised his arms and wrapped them around her slim waist, pulling her in even closer. Beth's long hair was blowing around her face, mixing with Cas' short, slightly darker strands. She shivered at the cold air that nipped against her exposed skin and burrowed deeper into him, desperately seeking the warmth he exuded.

To be completely honest, Beth didn't want to leave his arms—this was the safest she'd felt since the Meg incident and she was definitely _not_ willing to relinquish her grip on that feeling any time soon.


	13. Dreams and Rebellious Fools

_**BrySt1 (Guest) – I agree with you completely, I think Adam was better off in Heaven, at least he was at peace! I'm glad you liked that chapter, it made me sad too because I couldn't imagine losing my mum and having to go through what Beth's feeling.**_

_**Chocoluv99 – Thanks for the compliment, it means a lot! I was surprised that I managed that but I'm glad I did and I'm glad you like him now! Don't worry, there'll be more Beth/Adam scenes when he comes back again! :D**_

* * *

"_Hello Beth," an unfamiliar voice greeted lowly. She spun around in surprise and came face__—__to__—__face with a tall dark skinned man. His dark brown eyes flashed in the artificial lighting as he stepped closer to her._

"_Who the hell are you?" she blurted out before flushing furiously as the stranger raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side. "Uh, that_—_that was rude. I meant, do I know you?"_

"_We've met a few times in the past," he explained, brushing dirt off the sleeve of his suit jacket. "My name's Raphael." _

_Beth's heart skipped a beat, her eyes widening as she stumbled backwards, fear washing over her like an icy wave, seeping right through to her bones._

"_Why… how_—_how are you here? Castiel wouldn't let me be anywhere near you," she gasped out._

"_That pathetic excuse for an angel?" he laughed dryly. "That rebellious _fool_ couldn't stop me if he tried. Besides, I'm in your head_—_you're dreaming, Bethany. I may not be able to find you currently, but that won't stop me from invading your dreams."_

"_What do you want from me?" She moved backwards again as he took another step in her direction. "I want to wake up now. _Please._"_

"_Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. If I was, I would have done it all ready," he told her in amusement. "I just want to talk."_

"_About what?" she asked warily._

"_You know what you're destined to do," he started, pulling a seat out for her at the table and gesturing for her to sit down._

_Beth hesitated before slowly walking over and lowering herself into the chair. Raphael pushed her_—_and the chair_—_closer to the table and proceeded to sit across from her, resting his hands on the table top._

"_Not really… people keep telling me that I'm your true vessel, but I don't understand what that means," she admitted._

"_My grace and your soul are made for each other—they're identical. It means that you can only be used by me."_

"_You make it sound like I'm an object that's never left your possession… _ever_," Beth chuckled quietly, trying to make light of the intense situation._

"_That's what you are," he answered simply. "You have always been within my line of sight."_

"_I'm not your property," she argued._

"_You were created to serve as my vessel and my vessel _alone. _You have no other purpose," Raphael told her sternly. "You are _mine _Bethany Milligan. You _will _become my vessel and _no-one _will get between me and what belongs to me… especially not Castiel or your brothers."_

"_That'll never happen." Beth shook her head frantically and stood up, knocking her chair to the ground. "I won't say yes and I'll keep fighting against you."_

_Raphael also stood up, towering over her. "You foolish girl, you have no choice. It has been written by my Father that you will give your consent and act as my vessel."_

_Beth shook her head again and backed away, going straight for the door, only for it to disappear in front of her face. _

"_You can't escape me, Bethany and you can't escape your destiny."_

"_Let me out!" she yelled, banging on the wall where the door had been previously. She felt her chest tighten and her breathing grew shallow. "Help me! _Please_!"_

_The voice she heard next had her heart beating faster, her knees growing weak and relief consuming her instantly. _

"_Bethany," Castiel said. All it took was him saying her name and she cracked, tears welling in her eyes. "Beth, take my hand."_

"_Don't you dare leave, Bethany. I'm not done with you yet," Raphael warned._

"_Yes, you are," Castiel shot back gruffly. He stretched his arm out to Beth. "Come with me."_

"_W-will I wake up?" she asked, sounding and feeling smaller than she actually was. _

"_You will, I swear."_

_The hesitancy in her movements was obvious as she reached out, slipping her hand into his and holding on with all her might._

_And then, in a flash of bright light, Castiel pulled her to him and saved her from her nightmare filled sleep._

* * *

_**19th of August, 2009**_

_**Windom, MN**_

Beth gasped loudly as she shot up in bed, her long locks falling to her shoulders and brushing against her cheeks as she covered her face and tried to stop her shoulders from shaking.

"Bethany?" Castiel asked. His hand settled on her left shoulder, warm and heavy, grounding her and preventing her from slipping into a fast approaching panic attack.

"I-I'm fine," she whispered. She pushed her hair back with both hands and looked up at him, tears catching on her eyelashes before slipping down her cheeks.

"You're being dishonest," he stated hesitantly.

"He invaded my dream. I couldn't escape," she said, voice thick with tears. "He can find me wherever I go_—_I can't escape him."

"That's not entirely true," Castiel told her. She looked up quickly.

"What do you mean?"

Cas hesitated and sat beside her on the bed. "I can carve Enochian sigils into your ribs, if you would like. They can hide you from any angel out there, including me."

"Do it. Now," she demanded, grabbing his hand tightly—much like she'd done in her nightmare.

"It'll hurt," he warned.

"I don't care, if it can hide me from your brother, it's worth it," she replied urgently.

Castiel nodded and reached out with his free hand, setting it over her ribs. The warmth that seeped from his palm, through her short sleeved shirt, and onto her skin did little to comfort her as pain flared up on her ribs and she couldn't hold in the gasp of pain that bubbled past her lips.

"I apologize for your discomfort," Cas told her sincerely as he removed his hand and the pain faded to a dull ache.

"I-it's fine," she breathed. "It doesn't hurt now."

Cas was silent for a moment before he glanced down at her. "Dean called earlier while you were asleep—he wants you to call him back."

"Oh yeah, I'll—I'll do it later," Beth said and pushed the sheet away before clumsily getting to her feet and grabbing clean clothes from her duffel bag.

"You, uh, you can go do your own thing now... I have to shower," she told him, turning quickly on her heel and disappeared into the bathroom, slammed the door shut.

* * *

Dancing was the one thing that Beth was truly interested in. It was the one thing she truly cared about that she had left in this world. And, well, the world was gonna go down in flames soon anyway, so she might as well do what she loved the most before time ran out.

And that's why she was currently in the middle of the meadow her, her mom, twin and dad had discovered when she was 13 and they had gone on a hike one weekend.

Her bag lay at the base of a tree a few feet away with her doc martens lying beside it. She wore a thin, spaghetti strap tank top, a pair of black, cotton short shorts and her feet were bare.

'Let Her Go' by Passenger was playing from her phone, echoing across the meadow towards her. The music calmed her almost instantly and she was soon dancing as though her life depended on it.

The longer she danced, the more into it she got. She didn't notice until after the dance was finished that she'd gained an audience and the sound of clapping and wolf-whistling met her ears.

"What are you doing here?" she asked sternly, hands on her hips, a smirk appearing on her sweaty face.

"We were looking for you—it was harder than usual, but we got wind from the grape-vine that you were here."

"Why were you looking for me?" she frowned, curious.

"To let you know that you need to tell Cassie that Raphael is the one he needs to talk to about the whereabouts of Father Dearest," Gabe explained.

"I'm not telling him that."

"Why not?" the other male asked, a cocky look plastered on his face.

"_Because _he invaded my dreams and scared the crap out of me."

"Would you just pass on the message, sugar? You don't need to worry about Raphael anymore, those sigils on your ribs will hide you from him… and if he tries to go dream walking again, we'll stop him," Gabe promised her, a hint of concern for her wellbeing flickering through his eyes.

"…_Fine,_" she caved unintentionally, something she usually did around them because they always managed to get their way around her.

"Thanks, little dove," the lighter brunette winked as he tugged her into a loose hug.

"Just think of us as even now—I don't owe you anything." She returned the hug readily, soaking up his warmth and comfort.

"Of course," he agreed.

Beth let out an amused snort as Gabe wrapped his arm around her neck from behind and pulled her against his chest, a Cheshire-cat grin lighting up his features.

"What are you planning?" she asked, dread creeping up her spine.

"That's for me to know and you to find out… _eventually,_" he retorted playfully.

"Whatever, I should get back before Cas realizes I've been gone."

"Don't worry, Cassie isn't at the motel right now," the younger of the two males reassured her.

Before Beth could respond, Gabe clicked his fingers and she found herself back at the motel, her bag, shoes and phone strewn across her bed.

She sighed inwardly, worried about what she'd gotten herself into with those two jackasses. She loved them, but she was _seriously _starting to wonder how her hair hadn't turned grey from the stress they put her through will all their ridiculous pranks.

She couldn't help but think that she would get such verbal abuse from both Sam_ and_ Dean if they knew she was friendly with an angel and the trickster—archangel that had made their lives a misery once upon a time. A part of her _really _didn't care because her brothers had only been in her life for a short period of time whereas the two angels had been there for her since before she could remember.

* * *

_**Author's Note **__**— Hey people! I'm sorry it's taken so long to update, but I've a very busy holiday with turning 19 and having a cold and having a job interview and health issues but I've finally got this chapter up for you.**_

_**I was wondering if you would like me to post a story that has different one-shots of Beth and Adam's childhood. There'll probably be AU one-shots as well, by the way. But it's something I've been thinking about for a while now, but I wanted to ask for your opinions. So let me know what you think! :D**_


	14. Free to Be You and Me

**_'F.E.A.R has two meanings - _**

**_Forget everything and run_**

**_OR_**

**_Face everything and rise,_**

**_The choice is yours.'_**

**_\- Unknown._**

* * *

**_22nd of August, 2009_**

**_Windom, Minnesota_**

Beth was at a complete loss. Castiel had returned to the motel not long after she had three days ago, and she had been confused as to why he had come back so early after saying only five minutes prior that he was going to look for his Father and he didn't know how long it would take. When she had asked him about it, he told her that he'd been gone for more than 3 hours.

And that was why Beth was confused, she couldn't remember anything that had happened from after Cas had carved the sigils into her ribs to when he returned to their motel room. He was just as confused and concerned as she was, even if he was better at hiding it than she was.

She was now on her way to meet up with Dean again for the first time since he and Sam had split up and gone their separate ways. Her phone ringing startled her out of her thoughts and she quickly pulled over to the side of the road and fished her phone out of the pocket of her denim shorts.

"S'up?" she asked with a grin.

"How far are you?" Dean cut straight to the point and Beth rolled her eyes in amusement.

"About a day away, maybe less," she replied softly, knowing he was just stressed out from the whole 'splitting from Sam' thing and she should cut him some slack.

"I'll see you soon," Dean told her stiffly, sensing her pity. He then gave her the address of the motel he was staying at before hanging up quickly.

"Stubborn ass," she grumbled lightly, tossing her phone on the passenger seat before continuing on her journey to where her eldest brother was.

* * *

"You sure you're okay?" Beth asked again, shifting in her seat at a diner near Dean's motel. "Cause I can come and meet you…?"

"Beth, I'm 26 years old," Sam snorted in amusement. "I can take care of myself."

"I know, but… but this is _stupid!_" she whisper-shouted in frustration down the phone at him. "You and Dean are adults yet you both act like children—I'm younger than you and even _I _don't act like this. Why can't you just call and make up with him? I don't wanna be stuck in the middle of your feud!"

"Beth, it's not that easy—" Sam started, but she quickly cut him off.

"Yes it is!" she argued immediately. "Look, I don't know what went down between you two but I _know _that Dean's miserable without you… and so am I," she paused, letting her words sink in with him. "I want to get to know _both _of you and I-I can't do that if we're separated," she admitted quietly.

"Beth, I… I want that too—but I'm not ready to be around Dean again after the voice message and what happened in Colorado," Sam told her and Beth could practically hear the frown on his face.

"What voice message?" she asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"It doesn't matter," Sam said firmly. There was a muffled voice in the background and her brother spoke to the other person briefly before returning to his phone call with Beth. "Beth, listen, I gotta go."

Beth frowned and nodded once before remembering that he couldn't see her. "Yeah, okay… I _would _like to see you again soon though."

"I'll think about it."

"_Promise?_" she asked, a hint of warning in her voice.

"Beth, I _promise _I'll see you soon," Sam sighed in exasperation before hanging up. Beth frowned again as she locked her phone and set it on the table next to her. A waitress walked over seconds later with a coffee pot in her hands.

"Refill?" the older blonde woman questioned politely.

"Yes please," she smiled up at her. "Can I get a slice of that pie as well, please?"

"Sure, coming right up," the blonde refilled her cup before heading back to the counter to get Beth a piece of the peach pie. She returned moments later and set it on the table with a fork and then turned away to go clean up the other tables.

Beth ate the pie quickly, barely stopping to savour the taste and gulped down her coffee before dropping some money on the table to cover the pie and 2 cups of coffee and the tip. She pulled her jacket on and stuck her phone in her pocket, grabbing her bag as she stood up and headed towards the exit of the diner, fully intending on getting to Dean's motel room as soon as possible.

* * *

When Beth finally arrived at the motel, she gathered up her stuff and climbed out of the truck, locking it and heading over to Dean's room, walking straight in… and raising her eyebrows at the sight of Cas and Dean standing rather _close _together in the bathroom. They both looked over as she entered.

"Uh, am I interrupting something?" she asked teasingly.

"Cas here was just telling me how he was wasted by a teenage mutant ninja angel," Dean told her after sending her an unimpressed look.

"Was that a _joke _or are you being _serious?_" She glanced between the two males in confusion.

"The archangel that killed me was Raphael," Castiel explained as he turned his attention to her, gazing at her with his intense eyes. "I believe he knows where I can find Him, where I can find God."

Beth's lips parted in surprise at his words. She watched him curiously as he walked over to stand beside her, his coat brushing against her as he moved.

"I need your help, Bethany," Cas continued, sending her an apologetic look.

"Why me?" she asked nervously.

"You're his vessel," the angel explained honestly. "I know you're frightened of him, but I can _promise _you that I won't let him harm you."

"Harm me?" she repeated in disbelief as worry clouded her eyes. "Are you forgetting what happened?"

"Of course I have not forgotten," Cas replied, looking slightly offended by the insinuation, "but if I stand a chance of talking to him without being smote, then I _need _your help."

"Okay," Beth relented, her expression softening as she took in his pleading expression. "I'll help you, Cas."

"What are you guys talkin' about?" Dean asked, glancing at them suspiciously.

"It doesn't matter," Beth said quickly, shooting a 'don't you dare tell him' look at Castiel, something the angel failed to understand as he turned to Dean.

"Raphael invaded her dreams and frightened her," Cas explained.

"…And you wanna use her as a _shield?_" Dean asked in disbelief. He wandered over to his duffel bag and started folding up his clothes and sticking them in the bag. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. She's _not _doing it."

"Uh, excuse me?" she demanded, irritation welling in the pit of her stomach. "I don't need your _permission. _When are you gonna realize that I'm old enough to take care of myself? I've survived this long without you, Dean, I think I can manage helping out Cas with this _one thing _without you breathing down my neck!"

"You're my sister, it's my job to look out for you," Dean told her. Beth didn't reply, she continued to stare at him—unamused—until he sighed in defeat, raising his hands in surrender. "_Fine. _But you're to stay behind me at all times, understand?"

"Yes captain." She smiled smugly up at him, sending a quick wink at Cas, who tilted his head in confusion. Dean snorted at her expression and reached out, messing up her neat curls. "Dean!" she protested, batting his hands away.

"Where's Sam?" Cas asked curiously, glancing around the motel room.

"You didn't tell him?" Beth explained, slapping Dean's arm roughly. She looked over at the angel. "Sam and Dean are taking a break from each other for a while."

"…Oh, my apologies." Castiel nodded his head at Dean.

"Hey, Cas," Beth called as she walked into the bathroom to work on fixing her messy hair. "How do you plan on finding Raphael?"

"I've heard whispers that he's here, on earth, we just need to find somewhere away from humans and use specific ingredients to summon him," Cas told her as he stood in the bathroom doorway so he wouldn't have to shout.

"So, you think if you find this dude, he's just gonna spill God's address?" Dean raised an eyebrow, packing up the rest of his belongings.

"Yes," Cas responded, not picking up on Dean's sarcasm. "Once we've trapped him, we'll interrogate him."

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Beth clapped her hands together, mock-enthusiastically. "Shall we get going?"

"Meet ya at the car, princess," Dean said as he finished folding a couple of t-shirts that were strewn about the room. "I gotta talk to Cas about something."

"Okay, sure," Beth smiled over at the angel—he returned it readily—as she picked up her duffel bag again and headed out of the room, closing the door behind her and strolling over to her truck.

* * *

**_Waterville, Maine_**

**_(3 days later)_**

After arriving in town, the trio had found an abandoned house on the outskirts of town and had settled in quickly before heading into town to get fake FBI badges and suits to make them seem the part. Beth had decided to take her time whilst getting ready, just because she knew it annoyed Dean and had followed them out to the Impala when she was sure he'd been waiting long enough.

That led to now as she clambered out of the Impala eagerly, groaning as she felt her knees crack painfully. She closed her door and readjusted her pencil skirt, smoothing out the wrinkles.

"We're here… _why?_" Dean questioned as he glanced over the Sheriff's office.

"A deputy sheriff laid eyes on the archangel," Cas replied gruffly.

"And he still has eyes?" Dean sounded both surprised and impressed by the statement. "All right, what's the plan?"

"We'll tell the officer that he witnessed an angel of the Lord," Cas started. "And the officer will tell us where the angel is."

Beth paused, glancing up at them from where she was sorting her tights. "Is he for real?" she asked her brother, watching as he rolled his eyes, clearly amused. "You're gonna walk in there and tell him the truth?"

"Why not?" Cas' eyes flickered between the siblings in obvious confusion.

"Because we're _humans,_" Dean began slowly, taking out two FBI badges and tossing one to Beth, who stuck it in her blazer pocket. "And when human's want something really, _really _bad, we _lie._" Dean stuck the other FBI badge in the inside pocket of Cas' trenchcoat before straightening his blue tie and doing up the top button of the angel's shirt.

"Why?" Castiel frowned.

"Because that's how you become President," Dean smirked. Beth nodded in agreement, giggling at Cas' lost expression. She followed after Dean as he marched across the road, stopping briefly to curl her fingers around Cas' wrist and pull him after her.

"Deputy Framingham?" Dean questioned, stopping behind two officers, one with pale skin and dark brown hair and the other with light brown skin and dark eyes. The tall, bald man turned to face them as the other officer walked away. "Hi. Alonzo Mosely, FBI. This is my partner Eddie Moscone."

"Who's she?" the deputy pointed at Beth.

"Phoebe Harper. I'm in training," she explained to him, smiling sweetly.

He nodded and glanced back over at Castiel, who stood as still as a statue. Dean sighed in exasperation and nudged the angel sharply in the side.

"Also FBI," Dean said pointedly. Cas started and quickly reached into his coat pocket, pulled out the badge and flipped it open… upside down. Beth mentally face palmed as her brother yanked it from the dark haired angel and turned it the right away before handing it back.

"He's… he's new," Dean excused in embarrassment before changing the topic. "Mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"Yeah, sure. Talk here though," the deputy pointed to his right ear, "hearing's all blown to _hell _in this one." He gestured at the left one.

"That happen recently?"

"Yeah, gas station thing… that's why you're here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's _exactly _why we're here," Beth replied when Cas and Dean stayed silent, unsure of what to say.

"Can you run us through what happened?" Dean took over for Beth.

"A call came in, disturbance out at the pump 'n go on Route 4," Framingham started, sitting in his desk chair and gesturing at the trio to take the seats on the other side of the desk.

"What kind of disturbance?"

"Would not have believed my eyes… if I _hadn't _seen it myself." The deputy looked trouble as he recalled what happened. "We're talking a riot, full-scale."

"How many?" Dean asked, intrigued.

"Thirty, maybe forty," Framingham answered. "In all-out, kill-or-be-killed combat."

"Geez," Beth whispered, feeling shocked at his words.

"Any idea what set them off?"

"It's angels and demons, probably," Castiel finally spoke, leaning towards Dean. Beth quickly covered up a snort with a light cough and looked away as the deputy's eyes flickered from her and back to Cas. "They're skirmishing all over the globe," Cas informed Framingham.

"Come again? What did he say?" The older man stared at Cas like he was crazy.

"Nothing," Dean said quickly, just as Cas repeated himself by saying, "demons."

"Demons, you know—drink, adultery." Dean sent a frustrated look at the angel as he tried to explain Cas' words. "We all have our demons, Walt, right?"

"I guess…" Framingham agreed hesitantly.

"Anyway, what happened next?" Beth queried curiously.

"Freaking explosion, that's what. They said it was one of those underground gas tanks… but I don't think so."

"How come?"

"It wasn't your usual fire ball," the officer explained. "It was…"

"Pure white?" Cas offered.

"Yeah," the other man replied in surprise. "Gas station was levelled. Everyone was… it was just horrible. Then I see this one guy, kneeling there, real focused-like. Not a damn scratch on him."

"D'you know him?" Dean questioned.

"Donnie Finnerman. Mechanic there."

"And let me guess—he just vanished into thin air?"

"Uh, no, Kolchak. He's down at St. Pete's."

"St. Pete's," Cas repeated to Dean, acting as though Dean hadn't heard the man. Beth hid a smile behind her hands.

"Thank you," Dean said sarcastically, nodding. The three of them thanked the deputy and each shook his hand before leaving the sheriff's office.

* * *

After leaving the sheriff's office, the trio headed over to St. Pete's hospital and were staring through the window at an African-American man in a wheelchair after asking for directions to his room. The man was facing away from them, his eyes looking in the direction of the window on the other side of the room, but he couldn't see out of it due to the blinds being closed.

"What happened to him?" Beth whispered, rubbing her arm.

"Raphael happened," Cas said gruffly. "He's just an empty vessel now."

"Are… are you telling me an _angel _did this to that poor man?" she demanded, horrified. Cas nodded slowly, reaching down and squeezing her wrist gently in a reassuring manner.

"Is this what I'm looking at if Michael jumps my bones?" Dean questioned lowly from beside them.

"No. Not at all. Michael is _much _more powerful," Cas explained, not knowing his words were making the two siblings feel worse. "It'll be _far _worse for you."

Beth flinched in unison with Dean at the angel's blunt answer. She glanced quickly at Donnie's slumped over form before turning away, not wanting to look anymore. There was _no way _she would agree to be Raphael's vessel if that's what would happen.

* * *

A few hours later, Beth and Dean were back at the abandoned house they'd found and Dean was reading through their father's hunting journal whilst Beth sat at the table, reapplying her eyeliner and mascara in her compact mirror.

"Where've you been?" Dean asked as Cas suddenly appeared in the room. Beth paused and looked up briefly, waving in greeting.

"Jerusalem," the angel replied vaguely.

"Wow. Really?" Beth's face was filled with amazement. "God, I wish I could fly like you," she mumbled, a hint of jealousy in her tone.

"How was it?" Dean appeared almost as curious as her.

"Arid." Castiel walked over and set an old looking jug down on the table beside Beth, who looked intrigued as she ran her fingers over the ancient item.

"What is _that?_" Dean frowned, brows raised.

"It's oil. It's very special and very rare."

"Great, we're gonna trap Raphael with a nice vinaigrette?" Dean said, mock enthusiastically as Beth chuckled lightly.

"No," Cas stated firmly. Beth snorted, rolling her eyes as she took the lid off the jug and sniffed at the oil. A pained cough escaped as the strong scent filled her nostrils and made her eyes burn.

"So, this ritual of yours, when's it gotta go down?"

"Sunrise."

"You keep saying we're gonna trap this guy, but isn't that kinda like trapping a hurricane in a butterfly net?" Dean asked, concerned.

"No… it's harder."

"Do we have any chance of surviving this?"

"You two do. _You _are Michael's vessel and _Beth _is Raphael's. He wouldn't kill either of you," Castiel explained quietly, causing Beth's eyes to widen in worry for the angel.

"So, odds are you're a dead man tomorrow." Beth slapped Dean's arm at his insensitive words, glaring up at him.

"Yes," Cas returned in the same quiet voice.

"Well, last night on earth, what are your plans?"

"I just thought I'd sit here quietly," Cas answered.

"Dude, come _on. _Anything, hm? Booze, women." At Dean's last words, an uncomfortable look crossed Cas' face. "…You _have _been with a woman before, right? Or an angel at _least?_"

Castiel refused to answer, rubbing at his neck as he avoided making eye contact with the two humans. Beth couldn't help feeling sorry for the angel as she nudged his ankle with her foot reassuringly.

"Are you telling me you've _never _been up there doing a little cloud seeding?"

"Really? You haven't had sex… _ever?_" Beth's eyes widened in surprise as he shook his head once.

"I've never had occasion," he told her stiffly.

"Just wait till you do," she started, temporarily forgetting that he might not be alive tomorrow. "It's _definitely _worth the wait."

The loud clearing of a throat had Beth stiffening in panic, her cheeks burning bright red. She glanced at Dean quickly as he stopped in front of her, leaning down until they were eye level with each other. Her brother had a mixture of pissed off and _over _protective on his face and in his eyes. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Dean asked, a hint of warning in his tone of voice.

"Uh… _no?_" she replied meekly, her cheeks growing even redder.

"_Beth._"

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" she snapped in embarrassment. "It's not like _you _are a virgin either."

"That's different!"

"How?" she yelled back, fully aware Cas was watching them argue in concern.

"Because you're only 18. You shouldn't be doing _that _yet," Dean barked, his over protective nature rising to the surface.

"So? I'm 19 in two months time," she argued.

"Who was he?" Dean changed the subject so fast she could hardly keep up.

"…_What?_"

"Who. Was. He?" Dean repeated slowly.

"What does it matter?" she huffed. "It was two _years _ago. And Adam already beat the crap out of him."

"Beth," Dean growled.

"Dean! Just leave it alone. I don't _need _you to do anything to him. It's _over, _okay?" Beth held a hand up when her brother went to protest. "I said _no. _You just need to focus on trapping Raphael, okay? And taking Cas out for a beer or something because I wanna be alone right now."

Before Dean could say anything, Beth grabbed her makeup and disappeared up the staircase, slamming the door to the first room she found behind her after entering the bare, dust covered room.

* * *

Beth was glad when Castiel and Dean left, meaning she had the whole house to herself. It also meant she had a couple of hours to come up with a plan to somehow trap Raphael when he finally showed up.

After wandering down the stairs and into the deserted living room, Beth grabbed her almost empty bag of chips and stuffed a few into her mouth, chewing quickly and swallowing.

"Shit!" she cursed loudly as she accidently knocked over the jug of rare oil. As the jug tumbled towards the floor, a small amount of liquid spilled out and hit her arm.

It started off as a small tingle under her skin and then turned into an agonizing, burning sensation that spread from her arm towards her heart. She let out a panicked cry, trying frantically to wipe the burning liquid off her arm. The sound of wings met her ears and she spun around, clutching her injured arm tightly.

"Small fry?" Gabe questioned in concern, taking in her tear filled eyes and pale, sweaty face. "What's wrong? I felt your pain from miles away."

"I-I… it hurts. The o-oil burnt me," she whimpered, gesturing towards the jug on the floor. Gabe waved a hand and the spilled oil shot into the jug, which flew back up onto the table. He gently took her arm in his hands and frowned down at the deep red burn on her arm. He brushed his fingers over it lightly, and the pain faded immediately, though the burn mark stayed there, much to her surprise.

"Why isn't it healing?" she demanded, worried.

"I… I don't know," Gabe said as he backed away from her. "I gotta go… you gonna be okay?" he asked, smiling lightly at her.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. You should go," she smiled back and hugged him quickly before stepping away.

"See ya soon, squirt." Gabe saluted before disappearing, leaving Beth wondering what she was supposed to do whilst her brother and Castiel were out.

* * *

When Castiel and Dean came back to the house, Dean had told Beth about the disaster at the 'house of inequity', which made her laugh for about five minutes straight before he went upstairs and taking a shower, thankfully it was still working, even though the house hadn't people living there for a few months. The water was cold but it didn't bother Dean, who was used to taking cold showers.

Beth was downstairs in the living room with Castiel and the two of them were discussing Beth's idea. The angel was a little hesitant, even though he knew it would be a good plan.

"It'll work," Beth promised, full of hope. "We put a ring of that oil stuff down and then we trick him into walk into it and then you set the ring of fire and he's trapped."

"That would work," Cas agreed quietly. "How are we to lure him into it though?"

"…Dean or I could distract him and the other could push him forward?" Beth said, unsure of that part of the plan. "Or one of us talks to him and backs away at the same time? It would get him to walk forward into the trap."

Castiel nodded as he walked over to her and leaned back against the table beside her, turned his head to look down at her and frowned curiously. "Why are you nervous?"

"What if something goes wrong?" she asked. "I just… I feel like we're not going to be successful or something is gonna change our plans."

"All we can do is hope everything goes according to plan," Castiel replied, though he felt the same as her. He couldn't deny the feeling that something was gonna happen that would change everything they'd worked hard to prepare.

"Cas, I… I want you to promise me something," she said seriously. Cas nodded almost immediately at her tone. "If something bad _does _happen, promise me that you'll protect Dean, that you'll get him out of here and not worry about me."

"…I can't promise that," he disagreed. Beth reached out, gripped his arm tightly, causing him to meet her pleading gaze.

"_Please, _Castiel," she begged desperately, hearing the water shut off upstairs. "Dean's important to me. I can't live with myself if anything happens to him… to _either _of you. _Promise me _that you'll leave me behind if it means saving him _and _yourself."

"I… I promise," Castiel sighed. Beth smiled thankfully at him, squeezing his arm before letting him go. "Dean's not gonna be happy about this."

"Yeah, well, Dean's not gonna find out because you're not gonna tell him."

"You want me to lie to him?"

"Yes," Beth replied firmly, honestly. "This is something he doesn't need to know."

Castiel frowned but didn't respond, knowing that he could argue with her all he wanted, but she was just as stubborn as her brothers, meaning she wouldn't listen to anything he had to say at that time. Beth hesitated before wrapping her arms around Cas' waist, giving him a tight, side hug. Cas stiffened, just like last time before slipping an arm around Beth's shoulders, holding her against his side.

"Thank you," she sighed, briefly resting her forehead against his neck before pulling out of the hug and backing away towards the door.

"You're welcome." Castiel nodded, watching the young woman closely. Beth stopped in the doorway, glancing back at him, clearly in an internal debate with herself.

"Hey Cas…" Beth trailed off hesitantly.

"What is it?" he asked.

Before Beth could stall any longer, she closed the distance between them, rising up onto her tiptoes and setting her hands on his shoulders. She leaned in and kissed him gently, savouring the way his warm and slightly chapped lips felt against hers as she applied the tiniest amount of pressure to the kiss. Castiel responded after a brief pause—much to her surprise—and awkwardly placed his right hand on her hip and his left on the side of her neck, pressing her closer to him. Only when the rough clearing of a throat filled the air did she pull away slowly, reluctantly breaking away from his hold, and he let her, looking the slightest bit reluctant himself.

"At least you're not gonna die a total virgin," she whispered, grinning lightly. And then she was gone, disappearing out the door after Dean, leaving Castiel standing there, a blank look on his handsome face.

"What a strange little human," he mumbled thoughtfully before trailing after the Winchester siblings.

* * *

_**25th of August, 2009**_

"Dean, wait!" Beth heard Castiel say as she struggled in Raphael's hold. Whilst Dean and Castiel had gone back to the hospital about an hour earlier, she had stayed behind to prepare everything. She had taken a break after making the ring of holy oil on the ground and had turned her back for like two seconds when she'd been grabbed from behind and pulled back into Raphael's tight grip. Her brother and angel-friend entered the room seconds later, just as the archangel's wings appeared in the form of electricity.

"Lightening wings," Beth whispered, though she couldn't understand why the name was familiar. She let out a startled squeak as the light bulbs in the room smashed suddenly and she cowered back into the archangel—partly because she was trying to avoid the falling glass and partly because his hand was squeezing her neck slightly and making it somewhat difficult to breathe.

"Beth!" Dean was about to charge forward when she shot a pleading look at Castiel and the angel grabbed her brother's arm, pulling him back.

"Castiel," Raphael greeted, his voice cold and hard.

"Raphael," Cas returned. He tried desperately to not let his fear show, and he did a rather good job of it.

"You know, I thought you were supposed to be impressive," Dean taunted, unable to help himself. The two older men walked closer to where Beth and Raphael were standing. "All you do is black out the room?"

"_And _the eastern seaboard," Raphael added, a hint of smugness in his voice. He moved his hand from around Beth's neck and replaced it with his arm, wrapping it loosely around her and resting his hand on her right shoulder. Thunder rumbled ominously outside as Raphael continued, "it is a testament to my unending mercy that I don't smite you here and now."

"Or maybe you're full of crap," Dean stated, gaining Raphael's attention. "Maybe you're afraid God will bring Cas back to life again and smite _you, _you candy-ass skirt. I'm Dean, by the way."

"I _know _who you are," the archangel interrupted fiercely. "And now thanks to him, I know _where _you are. And I have Bethany in my possession as a bonus."

"You won't kill them," Castiel pointed out firmly.

"No, that is true." Raphael nodded. Beth swallowed nervously. "But I _will _take him to Michael and keep Bethany with me."

"Well, that sounds terrifying, it does," Dean started. "But I hate to tell you, I'm not going _anywhere _with you, and neither is Beth."

"Surely you remember Zachariah giving you stomach cancer?" the archangel queried.

"Yeah. That… that was _hilarious_."

"Yes. Well, he doesn't have anything _close _to my _imagination,_" Raphael continued. "And I believe you would come willingly if Bethany was at risk of facing my wrath." His arm tightened slightly around her throat and she gasped out in fear, struggling against him.

"Oh yeah?" Dean asked, mock polite as Raphael approached him slowly, forcing Beth to walk with him. Dean shared a brief look with Cas and Beth—the latter giving him a reassuring look—before turning back to the other angel. "But I bet you didn't imagine one thing."

"What?"

"We _knew _you were coming, you stupid son of a bitch."

Castiel flicked a lighter open and tossed it to the ground at Beth and Raphael's feet. The two of them watched as fire raced around the circle of holy oil and a wall of flames burst upwards. Beth pressed herself into the angel behind her to avoid being burnt again. Raphael sent Dean an accusing look over Beth's head and the sandy blonde haired male raised his hands in a placating manner.

"Don't look at me," Dean said defensively. "It was _his _idea."

Castiel turned his head slowly, giving Dean a look that was both unamused and betrayed. Dean shrugged pathetically in response as Beth bit her lip to hold in a laugh.

"Where _is _He?" Castiel demanded firmly, turning his gaze to his brother.

"God?" Raphael replied, knowing full well who Cas was talking about. "Didn't you hear? He's _dead, _Castiel. _Dead._"

Beth's heart skipped a beat, she knew God wasn't in heaven but there was _no way _He could be dead… _right?_

"No. You're _lying,_" Castiel argued.

"There's no other explanation," Raphael countered. "He's _gone _for _good._"

"You're lying," Cas repeated.

"Am I?" Raphael asked him pointedly. "Do you _remember _the twentieth century? Think the twenty-first is going to be any _better?_ You think God would have let any of it happen if He were still alive?"

"Oh yeah? Well then, who invented the Chinese basket trick?" Dean questioned, a smirk on his face. Beth rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Careful. That's my _Father _you're talking about, boy," Raphael warned fiercely.

"Yeah, who would be _so proud _to know that his son started the friggin' apocalypse," Dean retorted.

"Who ran off and disappeared, who left no instructions and a _world _to run." Beth felt pity well in her stomach for the angel—she knew what having an absent father felt like and she wouldn't wish it on _anyone. _She hesitantly set her hand on his and squeezed gently.

"So daddy ran away and disappeared. He didn't happen to work for the post office, did he?" Dean asked, grinning at Beth when she sent him a 'what the actual hell?' look.

"This is funny to you?" Raphael demanded. "You're living in a Godless universe."

"_And?_" Dean demanded. "What, you and the other kids just decide to throw an _apocalypse _while he's gone?"

"We're tired," Raphael explained, and Beth could practically _hear _the exhaustion in his voice. "We just want it to be _over. _We just want _paradise._" He sent a look over at Castiel, a range of emotions swimming in his soulful gaze.

"So, what, God dies and makes you the boss?" her brother demanded, not feeling at all sorry for the angel. "And you think you can do _whatever _you want?"

"_Yes. _And whatever we _want _we _get_." He held Beth tighter as if to prove his point. Thunder crashed loudly outside and the window behind Castiel and Dean shattered, causing them to duck to avoid the glass.

"If God _is _dead, why have I returned?" Castiel called over the rain. Beth knew she should have been focussed on the situation at hand, but she couldn't help thinking how attractive Cas looked with damp, messy hair, intense eyes and soaked from the rain. "Who brought me back?"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe _Lucifer _raised you?"

"No," Cas denied immediately.

"Think about," Raphael encouraged. "He needs all the rebellious angels he can find. You _know _it adds up."

"Let's go," Castiel said finally, turning away after sharing a look with Beth. She nodded subtly at him, knowing that he would keep his promise.

"What about Beth?" Dean demanded. "I ain't leaving her behind."

"Dean, _go_," Beth ordered, gaining a look of disbelief from her oldest brother. "_Now, _Dean. I'll find you later on," she promised quickly.

Dean went to protest but was quickly silenced when Cas grabbed him and began dragging him towards the front door.

"Castiel," Raphael called out. "I'm warning you. Do not leave me here. I _will _find you."

"Maybe one day," Cas started. "But today, you're _my _little bitch." The angel turned away without another word.

"What he said!" Dean yelled over his shoulder as he was pushed out of the door. He briefly managed to send a wary glance back at Beth before disappearing from sight.

* * *

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" Beth asked, glancing back at Raphael.

He turned anger-filled eyes on her and she flinched instinctively, inching away from him as far as she could without touching the fire.

"You need to get water to put the fire out," he told her finally, assessing her through dark eyes.

"How am I supposed to do that?" she demanded. "We are _surrounded _by a ring of fire." There was a brief pause before Beth started humming _Ring of fire _by Johnny Cash under her breath. Raphael rolled his dark eyes, muttering about 'useless apes' and 'pathetic vessels'.

"Holy fire doesn't hurt humans, only angels," he explained flatly.

"The hell you talkin' about?" she frowned up at him. "I touched that oil earlier and it burnt me!"

Raphael suddenly looked more alert as he met her gaze. "Show me!" he commanded. Beth hesitated but pulled her sleeve up to reveal the small, deep red burn on her skin. The injury wasn't as bad as before, in fact, it looked like it had shrunk slightly.

"Impossible," he whispered.

"What?" she asked, wetting her lips nervously.

He didn't answer, he simply dropped her arm and she quickly pulled her sleeve down, refusing to look at the angel again as he seemed deep in thought.

"I need to you call on Michael," the angel said after about five minutes of silence.

"Why can't you do it?"

"The fire's cutting off my connection to heaven," he replied, "but you can pray to him—he'll hear you."

"Ugh, fine," she agreed, knowing that it might be the only way for her to get out of the ring of fire. "Uh… Archangel Michael, are you there?" Beth called, glancing up at the ceiling. "I'm here with your brother, Raphael and we have a bit of a situation… we, uh, we're stuck in holy fire at a house on the outskirts of town in Waterville, Maine. It's the only house around for miles… uh, a little help would be _lovely._" A few seconds passed before she looked over at Raphael. She raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now what?"

"Michael," Raphael greeted, glancing past her at someone. Beth quickly spun around, following his gaze.

Beth was pleasantly surprised as she openly stared at _Michael_—she couldn't help it, the archangel's vessel was undeniably attractive with his tousled, dark brown hair, light blue eyes, high cheekbones and strong jawline. She could also tell that he was rather muscular underneath the expensive, dark grey suit he wore.

"_Wow,_" she whispered quietly.

"Brother, what a mess you've gotten yourself into," Michael scolded, and even his _voice _sounded incredible. He suddenly turned his eyes on her and she flushed deeply at the attention before cursing herself for acting like a love sick idiot. "Bethany Milligan, we meet at last."

"Uh… hi?" she squeaked out.

"I see you had a part to play in trapping my brother," Michael said flatly.

"Hey, if Dean had had his way, your brother would be a pile of ash by now," Beth replied defensively. "I don't want anyone getting hurt… even if you guys are jackasses."

The brothers shared an amused look before Michael clicked his fingers and the fire died down, leaving both of them free to move apart. Beth immediately fled towards the door, determined to escape before they could try to take off with her. She yanked the door open and shrieked in surprise as she collided with Michael.

"Get off me!" Beth yelled, fighting against him.

Michael sighed and touched two fingers to her forehead. The last thing she saw before falling unconscious was a flash of icy blue and then darkness.

* * *

_**Author's Note - I am so sorry it's taken this long to post a new chapter! But here it is and I hope you enjoy it, especially the Bash/Bastiel scene! :D I really enjoyed writing that part.**_

_**In response to the awesome reader who asked me about the Gabe/Beth/unknown angel situation, Beth forgets about them about five minutes after they've left her but she remembers them the moment they come back. It's mainly so none of the other angels know about them. This storyline will be explained further soon, so please be patient! :D**_

_**Please review and tell me what you think! I'm also open to any ideas that any of you have that I could possibly add into the story. I was also wondering if any of you wanted me to put up a separate story with one-shots of Beth and Adam and the other characters? I'll probably add AU oneshots in as well! XD**_


	15. Guardians

_**I am so sorry about the extremely long wait! But things have been hectic with college starting and all that. But anyway, here's the next chapter, it's more of a filler than anything, but I hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Fire and Ash.**_

* * *

_**26th of August, 2009**_

The moment Michael and Raphael touched down in one of their bases, the eldest archangel strode across the room, carefully laying Beth down on the dark couch and brushing the hair from her face.

"She looks just like him," Michael stated quietly, arms folded over his chest as he stared down at a sleeping Beth. "She's truly the one, isn't she?"

"So it would seem," Raphael agreed. His eyes tracing over her familiar features and long, dark hair. "I wonder if he knows."

"I believe he does," Michael stated quietly, resting his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "He didn't do a good enough job of hiding her from us."

"The others are curious about her," Raphael said to change the topic. "They know somethings different about her, but they don't know what."

"But they have no knowledge of who she is?"

"None... though Castiel seems close to figuring it out."

"I hope not, the last thing we need is for them to form an attachment towards one another." A flash of disapproval crossed Michael's stern face. "She is vital in our plans."

"I know… we'll have to keep a close eye on her, who knows what she'll try to do to escape." Raphael turned away and crossed the short distance to the large table in the centre of the room. Michael nodded in agreement, biding his brother a short goodbye before disappearing from the room.

Raphael exhaled harshly and picked up a nearby newspaper, getting ready for what would obviously be a _long _wait until the dark haired girl woke up.

* * *

_The first thing Beth noticed when she opened her eyes was the same, familiar park from her childhood that her, her mom and her twin used to visit whenever they had free time._

_"Bethany?" a deep voice asked in surprise._

_She turned around slowly, her heart thumping in her chest. Tears sprung to her eyes and she covered her mouth quickly with shaking hands._

_"A-Adam?" she gasped out. Her twin nodded, smiling as he stepped closer and held his arms out. Beth quickly closed the distance between them, throwing her arms around his neck._

_"It's okay," he whispered in her ear, holding her to him. Beth let out a sob, breathing in his familiar scent and clutching his shirt with desperate fingers._

_"H-how is this possible? You're _dead!_" she exclaimed as she pulled back to stare at him, her fingers now on his shoulders, digging into the bones._

_"I have no idea," Adam admitted, just as confused as his older twin. "I was just sitting here thinking and then you appeared out of nowhere… wait, you-you're not dead, right?"_

_"No, I… I don't remember." Beth blinked in disbelief, coming up against a wall as she tried to recall what she'd been doing before everything went dark. "I don't remember what I was doing."_

_"Hey, it's all right," Adam assured her. He took a hold of her wrist and guided her over to the bench a few feet away. "How's life been?"_

_"Lonely, dull… I-I miss you, so much," Beth told him honestly, brushing her tears away. "It's our birthday soon_—_only a month to go now."_

_"Really? How old are we gonna be?" Beth shot him a confused look—how did he not know how old they are? Upon seeing her expression, he smiled softly. "Time means nothing up her, Bethy. Years could've gone by and I'd be none the wiser."_

_"It's been four months. Y-you've been gone since April."_

_"So it's August then?"_

_"Yeah, it's the 26th… I think," she explained._

_Adam nodded thoughtfully as he turned to look at her. "What have you been up to?"_

_"I've been with Sam and Dean and Bobby and Cas," she replied, her cheeks flushing lightly as flashes of her kissing the angel flickered through her mind._

_"…Who?"_

_Before Beth could even open her mouth to reply, the flap of wings met her ears and she shot up, coming face-to-face with Michael._

_"Michael," Beth gasped, staggering backwards away from his tall, imposing form._

_"You've been here for long enough," the archangel told her sternly, reaching out and grabbing her arm._

_"Hey! Let go of me!" Beth ordered growling as she tried to free herself._

_"Beth, it's okay. You should go with him." Beth stared at Adam in disbelief, wondering why her twin was telling her to trust the angel who was trying to manipulate Dean into saying yes._

_"It's time to go." Michael placed two fingers against her forehead, and a flash of light blinded her as her feet abruptly left the ground._

* * *

A deep gasp slipped past her lips as she was yanked back to consciousness. Her eyes snapped open and slowly took in the paintings on the ceiling.

"You're awake. Good," a deep voice said from her left. Beth shot up, her neck aching painfully at the sudden movement.

"Where am I?" she demanded, glancing around frantically. "Why am I here?"

"You are here because we need to keep an eye on you," Raphael explained from his seat at the table a few feet away.

"…Where is here?" she glanced around curiously.

"This is one of our bases here on earth."

Beth nodded jerkily, taking in the large table in the centre of the room and the mounds of paperwork that covered almost every inch of the surfaces available. She shifted, moving into a sitting position of the soft couch beneath her.

"Where's your brother?" she asked warily.

"Right here," the sudden voice had her jumping in surprise and almost falling off the couch as a result.

"How long are you gonna keep me here?" Beth glanced up at Michael, eyeing him closely.

"As long as it takes."

"Meaning?" she demanded, raising an eyebrow angrily.

"You will remain here until you give Raphael your consent," Michael said simply.

"That'll never happen," she hissed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Then you'll never leave." Michael shrugged carelessly.

And then the two angels disappeared, leaving her sitting there, angry and a little bit scared.

* * *

_**27th of August, 2009**_

Time seemed to pass quickly in the base, though Beth couldn't figure out how much of it had actually _passed._ She'd already been around the large room four times, had thrown the paper from the table only to have it reappear on the table in the same neat order and she'd also tried each of the doors but, unfortunately, none of them would budge and so she remained stuck in the large room.

And as time continued to pass, Beth only grew more and more agitated. She wanted some damn answers and she wanted them _now._

"All right, listen up jackasses!" she yelled, running her hands through her hair. "I want answers _right now!_ Michael! Raphael!"

"What do you want?" Michael snapped from behind her. She spun around and grinned mockingly. "I have stuff to do; this better be important."

"I want answers and I'm not gonna stop bugging you until you answer me."

"…_Fine._ If it'll get you to be quiet," he agreed and looked at her expectantly.

"Am I ever going to get to leave? Can I see Dean and Sam?" she questioned. Michael shook his head once to both questions. Beth frowned, exhaling harshly. "Can I _at least _get something to keep me from dying of boredom?"

Before Michael could reply, a male and a female appeared in the base, the latter clutching a wailing baby in her arms. One that had tiny black and brown wings sprouting from its back. Michael turned to them, his lips stretching into a thin line at the interruption.

"Amriel, Diniel."

"I'm sorry, archangel," the man started, lowering his head out of respect, "but Amitiel wouldn't stop crying and Archangel Raphael told us where you were… you _are _the only one who can calm her down."

Michael nodded and took the dark haired fledgling into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. The little angel stretched out, grabbing Michael's fingers in a vice tight grip.

"Uh… why does she have wings?" Beth asked hesitantly.

"She's a fledgling," the female angel explained, "a baby angel."

Beth nodded, surprised as she watched Michael attempt to calm the baby down. The little angel continued to wail at the top of her lungs, her cheeks bright red and her tiny fingers squeezing the life out of Michael's. The screaming went on for the next few minutes until Beth moved closer and ran a hand over her back soothingly.

"Here, let me have a go," she said gently. Michael hesitated before handing the child to her. Beth grinned down at Amitiel, bouncing the baby in her arms. "Well, Ami, are you gonna stop that crying and be a grown up about it?"

Amitiel continued crying, though she did pay some attention to Beth's words. Beth started swaying from side-to-side, humming quietly under her breath. Amitiel's wails eventually turned to sobs and them to quiets hiccups and sniffles. The baby angel may have stopped crying, but she hadn't yet calmed down fully.

Beth sighed softly at the fussy baby and racked her brain quickly for something she could sing to ease Amitiel into a slumber.

_'I remember tears streaming down your face,_

_When I said, "I'll never let you go"_

_When all those shadows almost killed your light,_

_I remember you said "Don't leave me here alone"_

_But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight,'_

Beth sang softly, still swaying as Amitiel started to droop against her shoulder, her wide grey eyes blinking sleepily.

_'Just close your eyes  
The sun is going down  
You'll be alright  
No one can hurt you now  
Come morning light  
You and I'll be safe and sound_

'Don't you dare look out your window darling  
Everything's on fire  
The war outside our door keeps raging on  
Hold onto this lullaby  
Even when the music's gone  
Gone.'

The adult angels were silent behind her, watching on in amazement as the human girl succeeded in getting the fledgling to fall asleep. Beth didn't noticed them, she was too busy singing to pay attention to anything else.

_'Just close your eyes  
The sun is going down  
You'll be alright  
No one can hurt you now  
Come morning light  
You and I'll be safe and sound'_

Beth glanced down, a grinning spreading across her lips as she took in the baby's peaceful face and softly twitching wings.

'Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh  
La La (La La)  
La La (La La)  
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh  
La La (La La)'

Amriel and Diniel shared a surprised look, no one—other than Michael and Ariel—could actually get the stubborn little Amitiel to fall asleep, and here was Beth, a simple human girl who had somehow managed to do what many others had failed.

_ 'Just close your eyes  
You'll be alright  
Come morning light,  
You and I'll be safe and sound..._

'Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh oh oh.'

When Beth stopped singing, she turned to the adult angels to find them standing there, staring at her as though she'd grown two extra heads.

"What?" she asked self-consciously.

"_No one _other than Michael and Ariel can get her to stop crying," Amriel told her, shocked.

Beth blinked, surprised, but looked down and smiled softly at the fledgling, a fond look covering her face.

"Well, it looks as though you've gotten your wish," Michael told her after a few minutes of silence. At Beth's confusion, Michael smirked and continued. "You have something to keep you occupied and Amitiel has gained a surprisingly capable guardian for the time being… and she seems to like you well enough. I believe the two of you will be just fine on your own."

Michael, Amriel and Diniel then vanished from sight, leaving Beth standing there, rocking the small fledgling from side-to-side, being mindful of her tiny wings.

"Damn angels," she grumbled half-heartedly.


	16. 5x04 - The End

_**Author's Note: By the way, I've changed Kat's age so she's 3 years old in the future instead of a baby. (She's born in 2011).**_

* * *

_**The Angels' Base,**_

_**Boston, Massachusetts**_

_**August 28th, 2009**_

Beth was startled awake by a hand shaking her roughly. She grumbled, blinking blearily up at Michael in annoyance as her vision adjusted to the darkness of the room.

"Bethany," Michael said softly so as to not wake Amitiel up.

"Michael?" she replied, voice full of sleep. "What are you doing?"

"I have to show you something," he explained as he pushed the comforter aside, grabbing her hands and pulling her from the bed. Beth protested loudly, shivering as the cold air nipped at her sensitive skin. Michael rolled his eyes before snapping his fingers and Beth suddenly found herself wearing a smoky grey tank top, skinny jeans, lace-up boots and the same brown leather jacket she'd had before the ghouls had stolen it. She hesitantly pulled the jacket around her tightly, running her fingers over the left sleeve slowly. "What's wrong?" Michael asked, taking note of her sad frown.

"I… A-Adam got me this jacket for our 18th birthday. I always wore it, wherever I went because I loved it so much. The ghouls took it and now it reminds me of them and what they did. B-but I don't want to get rid of it because it's one of the only things I have left of him."

Michael paused before setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "He's in a better place."

"I know," she said, surprising him at the surety in her voice. She offered him a weak smile and patted his hand before moving away. "So, what's so important that you have to drag me out of bed at 4:30am?"

"I'm going to show you what the world will be like should Dean continue to refuse me and my brother win."

He reached out, taking her arm and flying them both from the room, leaving Amitiel sleeping in her cot with a newly arrived Amriel watching over her.

* * *

_**August 4**__**th**__**, 2014**_

_**Kansas City, Missouri**_

_**(3:00pm)**_

The first thing Beth noticed when she woke up was the ache in her head and back. She rolled over with a grimace, staring up at the mouldy ceiling of the room she was in in disgust.

"'the hell?" she asked in confusion, words slurring together. She was no longer in the base, she was now in a small room with a torn-up mattress, a knocked over nightstand and table and what looked like dried blood all over the walls.

Slipping a hand into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and sighed in frustration at the 'no signal' symbol in the middle of the screen. She shoved her phone back into her pocket and stood up, stumbling towards the door, pulling it open and wincing at the loud creak that filled the air.

"Hello?" she called out, stepping warily into the hall. "Anyone there?"

A thud sounded just down the hall from where she stood and Beth jumped in surprise, her heart racing in her chest. "This totally feels like the first five minutes of a horror movie," she mumbled sarcastically to herself and then started cursing as a figure appeared out of a room further down the hall and turned in her direction. "Crap, crap, crap."

"Beth?" the voice sounded so familiar to her and then he stepped into the light and Beth's eyes widened in amazement.

"Dean?" she called out, stepping forward. A smile spread across her face and she started running towards him. "Dean!"

Dean's arms opened at the last minute and Beth collided with him roughly, her arms snaking around his neck tightly. He wrapped his around her waist and lifted her off of the ground slightly. A breathless laugh left Beth's lips when he set her down after a few minutes.

"It is _so _good to see you," she beamed.

"The feeling's mutual," he replied, slinging an arm around her shoulders, guiding her towards the stairs.

"Dean, where are we?" she asked as she looked around in confusion. "The last thing I remember is speaking to Michael before I woke up here."

"I have no clue. I was asleep in my own bed and when I came to, I was in this old dump," he murmured back, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of danger.

"Y-you don't think the angels did this, do you?"

Dean shrugged roughly, removing his arm from around her so he could scrub a hand across his face. "I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of their little schemes."

Beth nodded in understanding, the confusion morphing into displeasure as she tried to figure out what the angels could possibly be up to now. Dean took hold of her wrist and tugged her down the rest of the stairs and out the door of the hotel.

The outside of the hotel was just as deserted and dilapidated as the inside. There were rusted, dirty old cars parked haphazardly in the middle of the street, junk and scrap metal was strewn about and most of the doors and windows in nearby buildings had been smashed and kicked in. Beth and Dean shared an uneasy look before walking further out into the street. Dean slowly turned in a full circle as they took in the devastation with wide eyes.

"Dean, what's going on?" Beth asked fearfully, hurrying after him as he started walking down the road, turning the corner onto the next street.

"I don't know, Beth," he answered quietly, slowing slightly so she could catch up as he continued leading the way down roads and around corners.

A loud grating noise caught their attention and they snapped their heads in the direction of a nearby alleyway. Dean sent a glance over his shoulder and she immediately began shaking her head in refusal.

"No. No way am I going down there," she snapped, taking a step back.

"Suit yourself princess," Dean said with a shrug before he turned and headed down the alley.

"_Dean!_ Dean, get back here!" she hissed through gritted teeth. She waited for a few seconds and sighed impatiently when he refused to come back. "I'm gonna kill him!" she grumbled, walking down the alley with hesitancy clear on her face and in her movements. She was extremely grateful when she finally reached the other side and found Dean standing a few feet away. "Dean, I'm gonna kill you!"

"Shh!" he ordered quietly. Beth's eyebrows shot up and she was just about to yell at him when she caught sight of the little girl crouched down a few feet away with her back to them. "Little girl? Are you hurt?"

"Dean, I think she's bleeding," Beth whispered, catching a quick glance of the girl's face.

The two siblings were definitely not expecting the child to suddenly grab a shard of glass from in front of her and let out a scream as she slashed at Dean with it, cutting his side and causing him to fall backwards in surprise. Beth jumped, startled at the sudden attack before she picked up a trash can lid lying next to her and swung her arm out, hitting the girl in the face and knocking her out cold.

"Dean, are you okay?" she asked in concern, throwing the metal lid down with a bang. Dean nodded, grimacing slightly as he climbed back to his feet.

"It's just a cut," he assured her, batting her hands away gently. "What the hell was wrong with that kid?"

"I-I don't know. She just went nuts."

"Oh crap," Dean whispered suddenly. Beth frowned but followed his gaze to find him staring at the word 'Croatoan' written on the wall in front of them in big, blood red letters.

"What's Croatoan?" she questioned, walking closer to the wall, her head tilted to the side in wonder.

"Beth. Beth, we need to go. _Now,_" Dean ordered sharply. She glanced back at him in confusion, wondering why he was suddenly looking nervous and… _afraid. _

A group of wild-eyed, dirty looking people appeared around the corner, just a couple of feet away from Beth. She swallowed deeply and took a step back, Dean's eyes widened in fear and he darted forward, grabbing Beth's hand and tugging her after him. The croatoan-infected people moved immediately after them, their eyes dark with hunger as they zeroed in on their prey. Beth let out a panicked yelp as one came close to knocking her down but Dean managed to pull her out of reach in time.

"Beth, come on!" he called over to her.

"I-I'm trying!" she panted back, her lungs beginning to burn as she struggled to keep up with his fast pace.

They turned the corner sharply, the infected people right on their heels. Beth whimpered in terror as they skidded to a stop, stuck between a chain link fence and their soon-to-be killers. One of the men marched forward, fully intending on ripping them apart when the sound of an engine filled the air and the man was gunned down where he stood.

Dean immediately pushed Beth to the ground, holding her head to his chest as he covered her with his body to protect her from any stray bullets. He kept his head down but watched from the corner of his eye as their chasers were shot before slumping to the ground.

"Beth, go!" Dean shouted over the noise, pushing her ahead of him and crawling after her as she headed towards the steps he'd pointed out. They ducked down as a bullet shot past them and hit the wall. He let out a deep breath of relief the moment they were out of the line of fire and hidden safely in another alleyway a good distance away from the soldiers.

* * *

_**3 Hours later**_

_**(6:00pm)**_

"What are we supposed to do now?" Beth asked, shivering as she followed her brother down the alleyway. A few hours had passed before Dean said it was safe to move and the sun had set, leaving them in the middle of nowhere with little to no light to guide them.

"We see if we can find Bobby," Dean replied, digging away until the hole in the ground was big enough for him to push the fence forward and fit through. He held it open to allow her to get through as well. "If that fails, we call on Cas."

"And if that fails?" she retorted in frustration. Dean scowled at her in response before turning his attention to the large sign attached to the fence.

"August 1st, 2014?" Dean read out loud, disbelief colouring his voice.

"What?" Beth demanded, leaning over his shoulder to look at the sign as well. Her eyes widened almost comically when she realized he wasn't lying. "H-have we time-travelled?"

"I think we have." He turned away, and to his relief, found a nearby car in reasonably good condition. He headed over to it and got in, slamming the door behind him. Beth took one more look at the sign before hurrying over to the car and climbing in, watching curiously as her older brother hotwired the car and it jumped to life with a quiet roar.

"How long do you think we have to be here?" she asked quietly. Dean shrugged in response, keeping his eyes in front of him as he carefully drove away from the deserted street. "You… you don't think we're stuck here, do you?"

"I really hope not, Beth," Dean sighed. He reached out and gently squeezed her hand. She weaved her fingers through his, holding on to him as though her were her lifeline. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll wake you when we get to Bobby's."

"Okay," she agreed quietly, still holding his hand as she shifted to get comfortable, closing her eyes and falling asleep almost immediately.

* * *

_**Sioux Falls, South Dakota**_

_**4**__**th**__** of August, 2014**_

_**(11:00pm)**_

"Beth… Beth, wake up!" Dean continued to shake his sister until she woke up with a grumble.

"What is it?" she mumbled sleepily.

"We're at Bobby's house," he explained, stopping the car and climbing out. He crossed to her side and opened the door, moving aside to give her room to get out.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About 14 hours," he replied as he headed for the door. Beth stumbled after her, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" She asked, walking into the house and glancing around with narrowed eyes. The house was the same as she remembered it but everything seemed to be covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs were in every high corner and on back of the chairs in the study.

"Bobby?" Dean called out. He stepped further into the house, looking for any sign of the gruff old man. "Bobby, you there?" Dean entered the study and looked towards the kitchen, his heart skipped a beat when he caught sight of the familiar wheelchair lying on its side on the ground. "Oh no."

"Dean? What is it? What's wrong?" Beth stopped beside him and her eyes dropped to the wheelchair. Tears sprung to her eyes as they trailed over the three bullet holes in the back of the chair. "Oh God, n-not Bobby. He… he can't be _dead_—" she cut off abruptly, blinking the tears away as Dean hauled the chair upright and stared down at the holes and dried bloodstains in the back of the chair.

"Where is everybody, Bobby?" he asked quietly under his breath before looking back at his distraught sister.

"What are we gonna do, Dean?" Beth questioned softly as Dean pulled a piece of wood free from near the wall and took out a thick journal.

"We'll be fine, Beth," Dean told her reassuringly, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder. "We'll be outta here soon."

Beth shook her head, eyes flickering up to meet his. "I heard what Zachariah said—we're stuck here."

"You heard that? I thought you were asleep," he said in surprise as he met her gaze. Beth's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment and she scratched her head sheepishly.

"I woke up when he arrived in the car," she admitted quietly. "I listened in on the whole conversation."

Dean sighed sadly, guilt filling him as he looked down at his teenaged sister. He knew his dad would be mad at him if he was still alive for bringing Beth into this whole mess. It was so obvious how hard John Winchester had tried to keep his twins out of this life. He'd taken every precaution to make sure no-one—human and monster alike—knew about them, he hadn't even told his eldest two kids that they had siblings and he'd made _damn sure _that the twins knew nothing about his life and what he did.

"I'm sorry, Beth," Dean said suddenly, causing her to blink up at him in confusion.

"What for?"

"For getting you into all this mess… and for what happened to your mom and Adam."

Beth flinched, and her face dropped at the mention of her deceased family. Dean felt even more guilt pile onto the guilt he was already feeling knowing that he'd put that expression on her face.

"W-what happened to my mom and Adam and I wasn't your fault. You couldn't have stopped it, even if you'd tried," she told him honestly, reaching out and taking his hand. She squeezed his fingers gently. "And you didn't _force _me into this life. The whole ordeal with the ghouls happened and I didn't exactly try to stay out of it, even when you told me how dangerous it is. Besides, you tried everything you could to get me to continue living a normal life but I wouldn't listen. I miss my mom and Adam with everything I have, but I don't regret that I got to meet you and Sam and Bobby and Cas. You guys are my family too."

Dean's lips twitched at the side and Beth grinned back in response, nudging him softly as she leaned against his side. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him.

"You know, Adam and I used to imagine what it would be like to have other siblings," she started, her smile growing. "He always wanted another brother, he said that he didn't think he could deal with another girl in the house, at least with a brother, he wouldn't be outnumbered by my mom and I. But at the time, I didn't want any other siblings, I was happy with it just being Adam and I," she paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "I'm glad I changed my mind though, because I don't know what I would do without you and Sam. I… I'm glad you're my brother, Dean."

"I'm glad too, Beth," Dean whispered against her hair.

"Adam would've liked you, y'know?"

"Really?" he asked in surprise. Beth hummed in confirmation, looking up at him.

"Oh yeah. He liked the music you like and he had the same attitude—he could be cocky and so sure of himself but he was kind and thoughtful," she explained, taking note of the way Dean's eyes lit up curiously as she told him about their other brother. "He was a ladies man too, just like you… and he had a thing for leather. H-he was gonna become a doctor because he likes helping people, it's what he spent most of his life doing, just like you and Sam. My mom was actually his inspiration, he knew how tired she got from being a nurse, but she always said that making the patients happy and helping them always made her feel good about herself. Adam wanted to do that as well."

"He sounds like a punk," Dean joked after a brief pause, gaining a giggle from Beth.

"He was, but he was _my _punk," she stated with a bitter smile. "I wish you had gotten to meet him, the _real _him."

"Same here, princess," he assured her truthfully before he released her from his one armed hug. "Right, we should get going. We need to find this Camp Chitaqua place."

Beth nodded in agreement and subtly wiped at her eyes, getting rid of any evidence of tears. Dean grabbed the photograph that he'd taken from the journal and handed it to Beth, who stared down at it curiously, only recognising Bobby and Cas, both of whom looked incredibly different to what they looked like in 2009.

* * *

_**Camp Chitaqua**_

_**5**__**th**__** of August, 2014**_

_**(4:00am)**_

By the time they got to Camp Chitaqua, back in Kansas City, Beth was utterly exhausted from all the running around and all she wanted to do was go to sleep and hopefully wake up back in 2009. She followed Dean quietly past the large sign with 'Welcome to Camp Chitaqua' in big, bold letters on it and towards a chain link fence, they ducked out of sight as a couple of men holding rifles walked past before Dean broke the large padlock with his lock pick. Beth gave her brother a strange look when he let out a noise of disbelief but soon caught on when she noticed a very familiar car that had been allowed to rust over and be covered in weeds. The once beautiful car was missing a door and there was a large hole in the windshield.

"Oh baby, what'd they do to you?" she heard Dean ask mournfully and she covered her mouth, stifling a giggle at his reaction.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she told him honestly, though amusement still flashed through her eyes.

"Beth, look out!" Dean called out in warning, but it was too late and a rough blow to the head had her slumping to her knees before hitting the ground as she fell unconscious. Dean followed suit only seconds later.

* * *

_**5 Hours later**_

_**(9:00am)**_

When Beth woke up, she found herself sitting against a wall with her arms stretched high above her head with her wrists securely locked in handcuffs. She let out a low moan, her head pounding painfully as she moved to look around the room.

"Dean?" she croaked out, stretching as far as she could before nudging him with her toe. "Dean, wake up."

"He won't wake up," a sudden voice said, causing her to start in surprise. She twisted around until she came face-to-face with… _Dean?_ Her eyebrows shot up and she glanced between the two Deans in shock.

"What the hell?" she asked as she blinked up at the older looking Dean.

"Right back at you," he started, fiddling with a switchblade. "I'd like to know why you look like my sister… and why you have the same locket and bracelet that she had but not the ring she got and the knife I gave her."

"Uh, what? I-I don't know what you're talking about," Beth told him carefully, eyeing him nervously.

"Who are you and _why _do you look like my _dead sister?_" the other Dean demanded. His green eyes seemed to burn angrily as he stared her down.

Beth's eyebrows shot up again and her face clouded over with a hint of fear as he stood up, walking over before crouching in front of her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Answer me!"

"It's me, Beth!" she shouted back in response, wincing as he tightened his grip. "I'm the same person I've always been and the question that _I _want to know is who the hell are you? Why are there two of you?"

"This is the future. From what I'm guessing, I'm him in 5 years' time." He jerked his head in the direction of a still unconscious Dean.

"Just like Zachariah said," Beth whispered inaudibly. Her eyes shot up when he released her and backed away, going over to the table where he sat down and started dismantling and cleaning a rifle. "What happened to the world?" she asked him, taking in his form with curious eyes. "What happened to _you?_"

"Croatoan virus. Simple yet deadly, it spread through humanity like wildfire," he explained as he briefly looked up at her. "As for what happened to me? I lost Sam and then I lost you."

Beth's eyes widened in surprise, she hadn't been expecting the last part. She cleared her throat awkwardly, blinking to keep the tears at bay. "H… how did I—"

"I don't want to talk about it, and I know for a fact that you _don't _want to know," he answered swiftly, sternly. Beth nodded jerkily, clenching her jaw as she looked down. There was a rough groan from beside her and she watched patiently as Dean slowly came to, looking around in confusion.

She ignored both of the Deans as she replayed future Dean's words over and over again in her head. She didn't know what to think about this world she'd suddenly found herself in, and she knew future Dean was right—she really didn't want to know how she was gonna die.

* * *

Beth watched on silently as Dean finally pried the nail loose from the floorboards and let out a smug 'aha!' as he got to work on freeing his right wrist from the handcuff.

"Dean?" Beth asked hesitantly, glancing up at him as he stood up and walked over to her, fiddling with her handcuffs.

"What is it?"

"Do you think he's telling the truth? About Sam I mean?" she clarified. She watched intently as his jaw clenched and his mouth spread into a thin line. "Do you think he's really dead?"

"I don't know what to think," Dean told her honestly. When he finally unlocked the cuffs, he leaned down and helped her to her feet. "Come on, it's time to go."

"But the other Dean said—" she cut off as he turned and sent her a harsh glare.

"Screw what he said, the guy's a dick," her brother snapped. Beth raised her hands in surrender and followed him as he walked down the stairs and towards a faded brown door.

"This is weird, I don't like it," Beth said quietly, clutching Dean's arm tightly. He simply reached back to squeeze her arm before walking down the porch steps.

"Hey Dean, you got a minute?" a familiar voice called out from behind them. They both turned to find Chuck heading in their direction.

"No. Uh… yes," Dean stumbled over his words until Beth pinched him roughly. "I guess… hi Chuck."

"Hi," Chuck returned before glancing down at his clipboard. "Listen, we're pretty good on canned goods for now, but we're down to next to nothing on perishables and hygiene supplies. People are not gonna be happy about this. So, what do you think we should do?"

"I-I don't know," Dean replied hesitantly. Beth watched Chuck over his shoulder curiously, the prophet had yet to even glance in her direction. "Maybe share? You know, like in a kibbutz."

"Wait a minute, aren't you supposed to be on a mission right now?" Chuck asked suspiciously.

"Absolutely, and I will be…"

"Uh-oh," Chuck said suddenly and both Beth and Dean spun around just in time for a dark haired woman to throw a punch at Dean, which he managed to dodge and stumble backwards. Beth let out a growl of anger—who the hell did this woman think she was? Coming over here and trying to hurt her _brother?_

Beth grabbed the stranger's arm, just like Dean had taught her and put a large amount of pressure on it, waiting until she tried to fight back before she bent the limb behind the woman's arm and wrapped her free arm around her neck.

"What the hell, lady?" Dean demanded in disbelief.

"Risa," Chuck informed him after Dean had ducked behind him.

"Risa?" Dean repeated.

"You spent the night in Jane's cabin, didn't you?" Risa spat angrily, struggling against Beth. Beth tightened her grip on Risa's neck, her eyes flashing dangerously. Chuck's gaze was finally drawn to her and his eyes widened in shock at the sight of her. Beth simply grinned in response and nodded in greeting.

"Uh, what? I… did I?" Dean asked in confusion.

"I thought we had a connection," Risa told him in a sugary sweet tone.

"I'm sure we do," Dean said, eyes roving over her form.

"Yeah?" Risa continued struggling against Beth until Dean motioned for his sister to release the hostile female. The older woman stormed past Dean and Chuck, sending a glare over her shoulder at them.

"Hi Risa," Chuck called out to her.

"Screw you!" Risa yelled back.

"Oh, that's it," Beth hissed, about to storm after the woman and demand to know what her problem was when Dean slipped an arm around her waist and lifted her up, turning and setting her between him and Chuck, ignoring her growls of protest.

"That's just great. I'm getting busted for stuff I haven't even done yet," he mumbled to Beth, who raised an unamused eyebrow at him. "Hey Chuck, is Cas still here?"

"Yeah. I don't think Cas is going anywhere," Chuck snorted, jerking his head in the direction of a pale brown cabin on the other side of the camp. "He's still in his cabin." The prophet eyed Beth wearily, He had no idea how she was even there but he knew for certain that she wasn't going to like what was in Cas' cabin at that exact moment.

Beth trailed after Dean silently, her eyes taking in Cas' cabin in silent wonder. Dean glanced back at her to make sure she was still there before he moved towards the beads that hung on plain white thread in place of where the door should be. Beth raised an eyebrow at that but made no comment as she stepped into the cabin after her brother.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the group of women that sat in a circle next to Castiel. The angel looked nothing like his past self—this version was messier, his hair had grown longer and he was sporting a large amount of stubble that was slowly turning into a beard. Gone was his familiar attire of a suit, trenchcoat and backwards blue tie, now he wore a faded blue tunic, baggy, dark blue pants and a pair of sandals.

The suspicion dropped from her face and was replaced by shock as Cas told the women to 'go get washed up for the orgy' as soon as he saw Dean standing there. He didn't see Beth however, as she was standing behind her brother. She shared a look of mutual incredulity with Dean.

"You're all so beautiful," Cas told the women, smiling as they left the cabin, heading past Dean and Beth and paying no attention to the two.

"What are you, a hippie?" Dean questioned as Cas stood up, stretching until his bones cracked loudly.

"You know, I thought we'd gotten over trying to label me," Cas pointed out, back still turned.

"Cas, we gotta talk," Dean started, the seriousness in his voice causing Cas to turn to them and almost step back as a result.

"Whoa, strange. You're not you… not _now_ you anyway," the angel said.

"Yes exactly," Dean agreed eagerly. Beth turned back to them from where she'd been examining the cabin with curious eyes and she stepped forward.

"Dean, this place is so weird," Beth stated, her voice drifting over to Cas, who froze instantly, his eyes seeking out her own hazel-green ones.

"B-Beth?" he stuttered as his eyes widened. He looked as though he'd seen a ghost, and Beth supposed he had, seeing as her future self was dead and he was now looking at the past version.

"Hey Cas," she smiled lightly. The angel's lips parted in shock, a glassy sheen covering his eyes as he took a step forward, followed by another one… and another… and another until he was standing in front of her. He raised a shaking hand, his eyes still locked on hers as he took a strand of her dark hair between his fingers and tucked it behind her ear. Dean watched the scene unfold with narrowed eyes, knowing full well that he'd step in if this Cas tried anything. Beth stood completely still, allowing the angel to get it out of his system. He stroked her cheek gently with his thumb before Dean's hand suddenly shot out, grabbing Cas' wrist and pulling it away from his baby sister's face.

"_What _is with all the touching?" Dean demanded and the spell was broken, Beth's chest rose and fell quickly as she regained her breath and her eyes dropped from Cas'.

"It's nothing," Castiel said stoically, taking a large step back and closing himself off from them. "What year are you two from?"

"2009," Beth answered, her eyes seeking his out again. "Late August."

"Who did this to you? Was it Zachariah?"

"Yes," Dean confirmed.

"Hmm, interesting," Cas tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah. It's frigging fascinating," Dean snapped, irritated. "Now, why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly us back to our page on the calendar."

Castiel let out a chuckle of bitter amusement that quickly turned into laughter. "I wish I could just strap on my wings but I'm sorry, no dice."

"A-are you stoned, Cas?" Beth questioned in surprise.

"Generally, yeah," he grinned at her, nodding his head in confirmation.

"What happened to you?" Dean asked in disgust.

Castiel's face hardened immediately and he looked to Beth once again. "Life happened. Her _death_ happened."

"Wait, what?" Dean glanced between them in shock, noting the way Beth's face fell and she looked down almost guiltily. "Beth, _you knew _about this?"

"The other Dean told me," Beth admitted shamefully, her hair falling to cover her face.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because if I told you, then it just makes it all the more real," she reasoned, trying to get him to see her side of things. "I didn't want to think about it… I don't want you to know what happens because I know you. I know you'll beat yourself up about it and blame yourself but it won't change anything… it won't bring her back or save me."

Dean scrubbed a hand over his face, as much as he wanted to argue, he knew that she had a point. He _would _blame himself for it and he _would _beat himself up about it. But she was also right when she said it wouldn't change anything, the future her was dead, but if they somehow made it back to their timeline, he would _do everything _to prevent it. He _would not _watch her fall as well.

* * *

"What happened to him?" Beth asked Cas quietly as they followed her Dean and future Dean into a cabin. She was completely terrified of future Dean, seeing as she'd just watched him blow some innocent guys brains out.

"After the showdown in Detroit, when he lost Sam, he was angry and distraught. But losing you was what pushed him over the edge. He'd made a promise to himself and you that he would keep you safe but he failed," Cas explained, eyeing future Dean in disdain. "He was supposed to keep you safe."

"I-it's not his fault," Beth said, surprisingly defending the older Dean. "I'm sure he did everything he could do."

"It wasn't enough," Cas told her firmly before moving away to stand near the counter. Beth watched him go, a frown on her face as confusion flashed through her eyes.

* * *

After Cas' little outburst at her concerning her demise and future Dean's failed attempt of trying to save her, Beth had decided to for a walk around the camp to familiarise herself with it, seeing as it looked as though they were stuck there for the time being. She'd spent most of the day exploring the place and introducing herself to the inhabitants of the camp… and explaining that _no, _she _wasn't _a ghost and _yes, _she really _was _from the past.

The sun was beginning to set that night when she caught sight of Castiel strolling through the camp, a tired frown on his face. Beth hesitated, before curiosity got the better of her and she stood up from where she'd been sitting on the porch steps of future Dean's cabin. She headed after Cas, making sure to keep quiet and not attract any unwanted attention.

The fallen angel glanced over his shoulder briefly and Beth ducked behind an old, rusted jeep. When she was sure he'd not seen her, she stood up again and trailed after him. Cas headed up the porch steps and into a pale blue cabin on the outskirts of the camp.

Beth paused hesitantly, rocking back and forth on her heels before she made her mind up and darted up the steps. She walked over to the window and peered in curiously after bracing her feet on the small bench beneath the window. Castiel was sitting on the bed, watching as a young blonde girl of about 17 or 18 walked over to him and… handed over a small child of about 3 years old with light brown hair and shocking blue eyes. Beth's eyes widened as Cas took the child and smiled softly down at her, pressing a kiss to the little girl's head.

Beth let out a loud curse as her foot slipped off the edge of bench and she toppled sideward, hitting the ground with a thud.

"Beth?" Cas' voice sounded from the doorway and Beth looked up, smiling sheepishly at him.

"Hey, Cas… how's it hanging?" she asked nervously. Cas frowned down at her in response and she sighed, holding her hands up in surrender. "I know, I shouldn't have followed you but you were acting all suspicious and I couldn't help it."

"You always were too curious for your own good," Cas sighed as he reached a hand out to her. She took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "Why don't you come inside?"

"Thanks," Beth said quietly and followed him into the cabin.

"Cas, what was all that—" the young blonde cut off abruptly, eyes meeting Beth's in disbelief.

"She's from the past, Claire," Cas explained as he took the child from Claire's arms.

"Wait, Claire-bear?" Beth asked incredulously, glancing at Cas. She looked back to Claire and felt amazement fill her—Claire had changed just as much as Cas had. The young girl she'd known briefly was now all grown up, she'd lost most of her baby fat and had numerous piercings in both ears. She even had a tattoo on her arm.

"Yeah, that's me," Claire confirmed, her light blue eyes glimmering with mischief. Beth beamed happily as she crossed the room and hugged Claire tightly. The blonde returned it, clinging to the other female with all she had.

"Now that reintroductions are out of the way, why don't you come over here and meet your daughter?" Cas asked dryly. Beth released Claire and spun to face him at his sudden words.

"My what?" she asked dumbly.

"Your daughter," Claire said more gently than Cas had. She took Beth by the arm and led her over to Cas. Beth's eyes were immediately drawn to the girl in Cas' arms and she took in the light brown hair—that was similar to Beth's when she was that age—the blue eyes that had flecks of green and brown in them and the small cupid's bow mouth and slightly upturned nose that was identical to Beth's. The little girl glanced hesitantly at her dad, gaining a nod and a smile from him. It was enough to have her sending a small smile up at Beth.

"Daddy, who's that?" the little girl asked quietly, meeting his reassuring gaze.

"This is your mom," Cas whispered to her softly. "She's come back to see you."

Beth watched the two of them, a strange feeling settling in her stomach as she followed their interactions with slightly watery eyes.

"C-can I hold her?" Beth asked cautiously, completely entranced by the child. Cas nodded and held the child out to Beth. She welcomed the girl into her arms and smiled happily as she received another smile from the little girl. "What's her name?"

"Katharine," Cas answered gently. "Katharine Millie Winchester."

"After my mom," Beth whispered, she carefully held Katharine closer to her chest and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "She's really mine?" Both Claire and Cas nodded in confirmation, watching intently as the brunette smiled down at Katharine when the child took hold of a lock of her hair and began twisting it around her fingers. "What happened to me? Why did I leave her behind?"

"You didn't want to," Cas said hesitantly, sitting on the bed and scrubbing a hand across his face. "There was a demon attack, they'd been hunting us for ages because they wanted to take Kat. You made me take Kat and run whilst you stayed behind to distract them. You died saving her."

"Why would they want to hurt her?" Beth couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt such a beautiful little person.

"Because of her father," Claire explained, sending a sharp look at Cas.

"I-I don't understand," Beth told them truthfully.

"Cas is her dad. They wanted to take her to Lucifer because she's one of the few Nephilim left on this earth," Claire admitted reluctantly.

Beth's head shot up and she turned to them in disbelief. "You're saying I have a kid with Cas?"

Cas winced at her tone of voice and forced himself to nod. He stood up and went over to Beth, taking Kat back. Beth looked extremely reluctant to let go but followed his silent command and released her.

"W-why would I do that?" Beth demanded before looking awfully sheepish at her rudeness. "I… uh, sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"We fell for each other, Beth," Cas said, trying to get her to understand. "We never meant for it to happen… it just did."

"Was… was it after the kiss we shared?" Beth questioned almost nervously.

"Yes."

"How do I know you're not lying?" she asked roughly, trying to blink back tears. Cas was silent as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a battered phone with his free hand. He fiddled with it for a few seconds before handing it over to her. She held the phone with shaking hands, staring down at the picture on the screen with wide eyes. It was a picture of her and Cas. The Beth in the picture was heavily pregnant and staring up at Cas with a look of adoration in her eyes. Cas was staring back at her, his blue eyes filled with love and happiness. "This… this can't be happening." She shook her head in denial, dropping the phone with a thud. She backed away from the trio, her vision blurring slightly around the edges. "I-I can't breathe," Beth gasped out, she turned quickly on her heel and burst out of the cabin, ignoring the calls of concern from behind her.

"Where's she going?" was the last thing she heard her _daughter _say before the door slammed shut behind her.

* * *

The next morning, Beth found herself walking up the steps to Cas' cabin yet again. She hesitated before knocking on the wall beside the beaded curtain.

"Come in," Cas called out. She pushed the beads aside and ducked into the cabin, smiling lightly at him when he looked up. "I didn't expect you to come here… especially after all the information we dumped on you last night."

"That's, uh, that's actually why I'm here," Beth admitted and stepped closer. "I wanted to apologize for how I reacted. It… it was just a little much to find out at once. I mean, back in my timeline, we're good friends and we kissed _once. _But I-I don't know how that means we get together and have a kid."

"It happened before we really knew what we were doing," Cas explained, still fiddling with something in his hands. "You were reluctant to start anything because you thought it would get me in trouble. But, in the end, it was me who got you in trouble… and you paid the price with your life."

"I'd probably do it again," she said honestly, gaining his attention as she sat on a chair next to the small dining table. "If it meant Kat would have the chance to grow up and be happy. I… I hope you and Claire tell her what my future self did, and that it was all for her."

"I'll make sure of it," Castiel promised quietly. Beth's eyes dropped to his hands and she caught a flash of gold as the light hit whatever he was holding.

"What's that?" she asked curiously. Cas paused briefly in surprise before he loosened his grip on it and the locket fell from his hand, dangling in mid-air as the chain was looped around his finger. "T-that's my locket," she gasped, reaching up to grasp the one around her neck. "How do you have that?"

"She gave it to me, before she died," he replied. "I'm supposed to give it to Kat when she turns 16."

"Y-you really weren't lying about us, were you?" she whispered, almost dreading the answer as he stood up and walked over to her, setting the locket on the table beside her.

"No. I wasn't," he said in return before walking over to a record player in the corner of the room. "I can tell you another thing about you that you told me and no one else."

"…Okay," she agreed softly. Her eyes followed him as he pulled a record out from a large collection and got to work on putting it on the record player. There was a brief silence before a _very _familiar song started playing. Beth's eyes widened and her mouth parted in surprise. "T-that's my—"

"It's your mom's favourite song," he interrupted, glancing back at her. "She used to play it the whole time because it was playing when she first realized she loved your dad. The four of you were out for dinner when he came to visit you and Adam and you went up to the band and asked them to play it for you before you encouraged your parents to get up and dance."

"My mom looked so happy when she was dancing with him," Beth said, reminiscing about that night back when she was 14. "I've never seen someone look at another person with such love in their eyes before and I… I thought to myself that I wanted that someday. I wanted someone to look at me like that." Beth jumped as a hand was suddenly thrust under her nose and she looked up, staring at him in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Dance with me," was all he said in response. Beth hesitantly slipped her hand into his and stood up, following him to the centre of the room. A peal of laughter escaped as Cas spun her out before twirling her back in, she hit his chest roughly, letting out a quiet 'oomph' at the impact.

"You're surprisingly good at dancing," she told him teasingly, curling her fingers around his shoulder. He grinned back mischievously before dipping her backwards and pulling her up quickly. She met his eyes and almost stepped back in surprise at the way his eyes lit up as he watched her.

The two of them continued dancing until the song had ended, and even when the last note died down, they continued to stay in the dancing position, staring at each other. Cas' eyes flickered to her lips and back up to her eyes and Beth nodded once, her breath quickening as he leaned down towards her.

"Hey!" the gruff voice of future Dean had Beth springing backwards in shock. She felt like a bucket of icy water had been dumped on her head as she was torn from her trance. "What the hell's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Cas retorted, sending a glare at Dean.

"No. No, I refuse to let you corrupt her as well," Dean growled. He stood up straighter and jerked his head at Beth. "Get over here." Beth lowered her head, about to walk over to him when a hand locked around Beth's arm and pulled her to a stop. "Let. Her. Go."

"What happened to her is _not _my fault," Cas told him sternly. Beth glanced back and forth between them in concern. The last thing she wanted was for a fight to break out because of her.

"She died because _you _got her knocked up," Dean barked. "She was dead from the moment you two got involved."

"Would you two _shut up!_" Beth demanded, yanking her arm free. She sent a sharp glare at both of them. "What happened to me—my future self was _no one's_ fault. She died to _save _the life of her _child_ and the sooner you two idiots get that into your thick skulls, the better. There is too much at stake here for you two to continue fighting and bickering like children. You need to get it together and work as a team, like you used to."

Both Cas and Dean were silent, completely taken aback at her stern telling off. Beth exhaled noisily, hands dropping from where they had been perched on her hips. She glanced between them and waited impatiently until they both let out a reluctant 'fine' and backed down. She smiled smugly and patted their shoulders before heading out the door in search of her Dean.

* * *

"So, that's it? That's the Colt?" Risa asked later that day when future Dean had called a group meeting in his cabin.

"If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it," future Dean told her firmly, barely glancing at her. Beth muffled a snigger with a cough when her Dean elbowed her roughly.

"Great. Have we got anything that can actually _find _Lucifer?" Risa demanded.

"Are you okay?" future Dean questioned, finally looking up at Risa with a look of mock-concern on his face.

"We were in Jane's cabin last night," Dean interrupted from his position on the table in the corner, gaining his doppleganger's attention, "and apparently, we and Risa have a connection."

Beth hid a grin behind her hands as Cas chuckled quietly, Risa looked away in irritation and future Dean sent his younger self a glare.

"You mind shutting up?" Dean raised his hands in surrender at his doppleganger's order and gestured for him to continue. "We don't have to find Lucifer. We know where he is. That demon that we caught last week, he was one of the big guy's entourage. He knew."

"So, a demon tells you where Satan's gonna be and you just believe it?" Risa input.

"Oh, trust me, he _wasn't _lying," future Dean promised darkly. Beth frowned in confusion, sending a glance back at her brother.

"And you know this _how?_"

"Our fearless leader—I'm afraid—is all too well-schooled in the art of getting to the truth," Castiel explained, and only the Deans seemed to get the hidden meaning in his words.

"What are you talking about?" Beth asked, just as confused as Risa.

"Torture?" Dean questioned in disbelief. "We're torturing again? Well… that's good. _Classy._"

"What do you mean _again?_" Beth demanded, standing up as well. "Why the hell would you be torturing demons in the _first place?_"

Both Deans ignored her questions and the future one sent an unimpressed look at Cas when the fallen angel started chuckling to himself.

"What?" Cas asked defensively. "I like past you… and Beth too, of course."

"Shut up," Beth and future Dean said in unison. Cas raised his hands in surrender as future Dean pulled out a map to show everyone.

"Lucifer is here. Now," he started, pointing to a spot on the faded paper. "I know the block, I know the building." Risa walked over for a closer look as Castiel leaned in, barely glancing at the spot ringed in red ink.

"Oh great. It's right in the middle of a hot zone," Cas pointed out, mock enthusiastic.

"Crawling with croats. You saying my plan is reckless?" Future Dean queried, his tone suggesting that arguing was pointless.

"Are you saying we walk up the driveway past all the demons and croats and shoot the devil?" Cas countered.

"Yes," Future Dean confirmed.

"Okay," Cas said simply, seeming to back down before he spoke again. "If you don't like 'reckless' I could use 'insouciant' maybe."

"Are you coming?" Future Dean asked, looking completely down with Cas' crap.

"Of course. But what about them?" Cas pointed at Beth and Dean. "He's you five years ago and she's… well, she's Beth. And if something happens to either of them we're screwed."

"Thanks for clearing that up, really. I had _no idea _who I was," Beth snarked from beside her brother. Cas and the two Deans ignored her whilst Risa sent her an amused look.

"They're coming," Future Dean declared, glancing between the group, looking for any signs of protest—not that he really _cared _if anyone protested or not.

"Okay," Cas nodded in acceptance, though he did send a worried look over at Beth. "We'll get the grunts moving."

"We're loaded and on the road by midnight," Future Dean said as everyone headed for the door. Beth hesitated before following after them, leaving her brother behind with his doppleganger.

"Alrighty!" Castiel called back, taking a hold of Beth's arm and dragging her after him.

"Where are we going?" Beth asked, tripping over loose twigs.

"I'm gonna say goodbye to Kat," Cas started, guiding her towards Claire's cabin. "I thought you might like to hold her one last time before you go back to the past."

"I… I'd like that," Beth said, surprising herself at her honesty. Cas smirked back at her in response.

* * *

"Yo, Claire!" Cas called, walking right into the cabin. "I wanna say goodbye to Kat before we go."

Claire came out of the bedroom seconds later, clutching a grumpy looking Kat to her. "Thanks a lot dumbass, I just got her to sleep."

"Yeah, well. She can sleep plenty while I'm gone," Castiel replied carelessly, immediately reaching for his daughter. Claire handed her over without a fight.

"Daddy," Kat whined, burying her face in his neck. Cas rubbed her back softly in comfort.

"I'll give you some privacy," Claire said before leaving the cabin. Beth paid no attention, she was too busy staring at Kat.

"She's so beautiful," Beth whispered. She found it hard to believe that someone as screwed up as she was right now could _ever _create something so _pure, _so _beautiful._

"She takes after her mom," Cas replied without thinking. Beth winced uncomfortably at his choice of words.

"Look, Cas, could you tone it down a little? I'm flattered really, but I'm not used to this sort of comments from you," Beth said hesitantly.

Cas paused briefly before nodding lightly. "I can do that… it wasn't my intention to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay. Can I hold her? Please?" Castiel nodded and held Kat out to Beth. She took the child and rocked her lightly as the little girl blinked up at her tiredly. "It's okay, sweetheart, I'm here."

"M'sleepy," Kat said, resting her cheek on Beth's shoulder.

"I know, sweetie," Beth assured her. "Just go to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up."

Castiel watched on fondly as Beth started pacing slowly, continuing to bounce Kat until she eventually fell asleep, her short brown curls tickling Beth's neck. Beth sent a glance over her shoulder at Cas and smiled lightly before she turned back to Kat and pressed a kiss against her head.

"You know, I wasn't entirely honest with you before," Cas said suddenly, causing her to start in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"The demons that killed you… it wasn't just Katharine they were after."

"What are you talking about, Cas?"

"They were after you as well, because of what you are," he replied reluctantly.

Beth's brows furrowed at his evasiveness of the question and she stepped closer. "_What _am I?"

"You're like her… a Nephilim," he admitted, looking away.

Beth stared at him in shock, she hadn't been expecting that. "That's… that's funny, seriously. It's also _completely _impossible because both my parents were human."

"You're a different kind," Cas explained as he looked back up and met her gaze. "It was not long before Lucifer fell, when he and the other fallen angels were creating nephil left and right, that our Father decided to create some of His own. He picked some of his strongest humans and took blood from the remaining archangels and Himself. The humans had to drink the blood and undergo a series of tests to prove themselves. When they passed, they were trained to fight and sent out to destroy their cousins."

"Right… and just _where _do I fit into all of this?" she asked sceptically.

"The reason you're the perfect vessel for Raphael is because his blood is in your family. It's been passed down for generations—your maternal grandmother had it, your mom had it and now so do you."

"B-but what about Adam? He's my twin," Beth pointed out.

"There's a chance some of the gene was passed onto him, but who knows?" Cas shrugged.

Beth let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "This is ridiculous and overwhelming and I really wish I was back home in the base with Ami and that lot."

"I'm not surprised," Cas chuckled dryly, causing her to look at him in confusion. "You've always been a bit of an 'angel groupie'," he explained, smiling at her. "Dean and I used to tease you about it."

"Uh… okay?" she said hesitantly. The door flying open put an end to any move conversation and they turned to find Claire standing there, panting slightly as she tried to regain her breath.

"R-Risa's looking for you," Claire gasped out. "S-she needs help sorting out the jeep."

Castiel nodded in understanding, turning back to Beth. "I'll be back in a few minutes, will you be okay here?"

"Yeah, sure," Beth agreed as she sent a glance down at Kat. "I'll be fine." Cas nodded again and then headed out the door with Claire hot on his heels. "I guess it's just you and I then," she mumbled. Katharine jumped awake as the door closed with a bang. The young girl looked back up at Beth in confusion.

"Your daddy's just gone out for a bit, he'll be back soon." Kat nodded, watching her mom closely.

Beth hesitated before reaching into her pocket and pulling her phone out. She put the camera up onto the screen and turned it so she could take a picture of her and Kat. "Hey, Kat. Look at the camera," she said gently, sitting down and pointing to the camera. Kat immediately looked towards the phone, a cheeky smile on her lips causing her cheek to dimple slightly. Beth chuckled fondly at her as she moved closer to her daughter, their cheeks pressing together lightly.

Beth smiled and took the picture, forever capturing the moment she shared her first proper bonding with her daughter. She kissed Kat's hair, hugging the girl tightly. Kat returned it, clinging to her mom with all her might.

* * *

It was almost midnight by the time all the jeeps were ready to go. Beth followed Dean silently down the path towards the second car at the front of the line. She paid little attention as Chuck came over and started talking to Dean, something about '2009' and 'hoarding toilet paper'.

She waved briefly at Chuck, which he returned before she climbed into the backseat and slumped against her seat, resting the side of her head against the window. Her eyes slipped shut as she drifted into an uneasy sleep.

**(1 hour later) **

When Beth woke up, it was to the sound of Cas' gruff voice as he asked Dean if he wanted some of the pills he'd just taken. She rubbed her eyes roughly as she sat up before leaning forward, her head stretching past the space in between their seats.

"Y'know," she started tiredly, glancing at Cas. "It's a wonder Claire lets you anywhere near Kat with the amount of drugs you take."

"She knows I'd never hurt Kat," Castiel replied, sounding the slightest bit hurt at her words. "Besides. This is the first lot of pills I've taken since you two arrived and shook up our lives."

Beth tilted her head in acknowledgement, leaning back against her seat and closed her eyes again, leaving Cas to explain to Dean who Kat was.

She vaguely heard him say, "She's my special little lady," before she fell asleep again.

* * *

_**August 7**__**th**__**, 2014**_

_**(9:00am)**_

"Dean, I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Beth whispered to her brother as they walked down the deserted street after the rest of the group. "Why are we even here? What if something bad happens?"

"It won't. Zach's got an eye out for us," Dean reassured her. "Besides, I won't let anything happen to you."

"…Thanks," Beth said, sounding surprisingly touched at his promise.

"Don't sweat it," Dean replied uncomfortably. Beth smirked and elbowed him lightly until a small smile of amusement crossed his lips.

"There we go," she crooned teasingly. "I knew you knew how to smile."

Dean rolled his eyes and threw his left arm out, wrapping it around her neck and pulling her to him, he used his free hand to mess up her hair. Beth immediately began struggling against her brother's tight grip.

"Ouch! Dean, let go, you ass!" Beth hissed at him. She heard a couple of chuckles from behind her and ignored them as she tried to pull herself free.

"You two, shut up!" Future Dean barked quietly. Beth and Dean immediately moved apart, glancing at each other as if to say 'he started it' and 'she started it'. "Do I have to remind you that we're in the middle of a croats hot zone?"

"Sorry master," Beth muttered grumpily under her breath, though future Dean clearly heard her, if the glare he sent her was anything to go by.

The group continued walking along slowly until they came across a chain-link fence with 'Jackson County Sanatorium' written on a sign in bold letters.

"This place is creepy," Beth whispered to Cas, who had slowed his pace to walk beside her.

"Well, it's the devil's hide-out," Cas pointed out with a careless shrug. Clearly the pills he'd taken before had mellowed him out. Beth followed suit as they all ducked behind a couple of old, upside down cars to hide from any prying eyes.

"There, second floor window. We go in there," future Dean told the group as he lowered his binoculars.

"You sure about this?" Risa asked, clutching her rifle tightly. Dean glanced back at her, a tiny flicker of guilt flashing through his eyes as he took in the fear on her face.

"They'll never see us coming," future Dean said, fully aware that his doppleganger was staring at him suspiciously. "Trust me. Now, weapons check. We're on the move in 5."

"Hey, uh, me," Dean called out, gaining his older self's attention. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Beth watched curiously as the two Dean's walked a few feet away to talk privately amongst themselves. She turned back to Cas after a few drawn out seconds.

"Hey, Cas… you'll be careful, won't you?" she asked hesitantly, fully aware that Risa and the others were within hearing distance. "Kat needs you."

"I will, I promise," Cas whispered as he reached out and curled his fingers around hers, squeezing lightly before he let go. "I made the same promise to her, y'know? When she was dying, she asked the same thing of me… guess I didn't do as good a job as I thought I had."

"Don't be silly. Katharine couldn't have had a better dad than you," she told him firmly. "I've seen how you are with her, you're a great dad."

"Thank you, Bethany."

"It's just Beth," she corrected, instinctively. Cas' lips twitched into an amused smile and she returned it eagerly.

Castiel seemed to hesitate before her, and she tilted her head to the side, wondering what he was thinking about. Before she could ask if he was alright, he leaned in and kissed her roughly. Beth froze in surprise, his lips felt warm and chapped against her own, exactly the same as past Castiel's had felt when she'd kissed him. She snapped out of her trance and slowly returned the kiss, parting her lips against his.

"Beth!" future Dean yelled, once again causing her to jump backwards in surprise. She would've toppled backwards onto the ground if Cas hadn't caught her by the arm. She thanked him with her eyes before glancing over her shoulder at future Dean. "A word. _Now._"

"I'll be right back," she told Cas firmly as she stood up and walked towards future Dean. He led her away from the group towards a heavily wooded area. "What's up?"

"I'm really sorry about this," he said apologetically.

"About wha—" Beth was cut off abruptly as she turned to face him and he roughly hit her in the head with the butt of his rifle. She crumpled immediately, falling into his arms limply. Future Dean sighed softly as he brushed the hair from her face and carefully lowered her to the ground. He forced himself to turn around and walk away from her.

* * *

"Beth… Beth!"

Beth came to with a groan, her eyelids fluttered weakly as the light blinded her and the world blurred before her eyes. A warm hand cupped her face and she opened her eyes fully to find Dean hovering above her.

"D-Dean? Why are there two of you?" she slurred as he lifted her into a sitting position. She blinked a few times before her vision returned to normal. "Ah, there we go. There's only one of you now."

"That asshole," Dean growled. He wanted to wring his future self's neck. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Get in line," Beth grumbled, taking his hand and climbing unsteadily to her feet. "Wait, if we were knocked out, where is everyone else?"

Dean sent her a look over his shoulder and she immediately knew what it meant. She shook her head in denial, her hair slapping her in the face.

"No. _No,_ t-they can't be… Cas _can't _be dead," she choked out. "K-Kat needs him. He promised."

"What's so special about this Kat person?"

Beth grew cold at his words and she reluctantly looked up at him. "S-she's Cas' daughter."

"Cas has a kid?" Dean asked in disbelief. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"I-I don't know," she lied, not wanting him to know that she was gonna enter into a relationship with Cas in the near future and have a child before she died protecting said child.

"Come on," he said finally, grabbing her hand and pulling her after him as he started running in the direction of gunfire. "We need to find the other Dean!"

The two of them glanced briefly up at the building as gunshots continued to echo from within before they turned right sharply and raced through the trees until the found future Dean lying on the ground with a tall, dark haired man standing above him, an unnaturally shiny white shoe pressing down on his throat. Beth let out a muffled yelp of horror as the man in white applied more pressure and snapped future Dean's throat with ease. The loud crack of his neck breaking echoed around the small clearing and Beth covered her mouth, trying to hold back the need to throw up.

"Oh," the man turned around and Beth's mouth dropped open in shock. "Hello, Dean… _Beth."_

"S-Sam?" she whispered in confusion. "Dean, what's going on?" Beth demanded, glancing between Sam and Dean.

Dean ignored her, his eyes locked on their brother's tall form. Anger and fear was swimming through his eyes as he stared at Sam. Beth clutched Dean's arm tightly, sensing that something was wrong with their brother.

"…Well, aren't you two a surprise?" Sam questioned, but his voice was all wrong, it was cold… and distant. Nothing like the Sam she knew. There was a loud rumble of thunder beside them and they both flinched automatically, and when they opened their eyes again, they realized Sam was no longer in front of them. "You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?" his voice asked from behind them and they spun around to face him.

"Well go ahead," Dean said gruffly. Beth gaped up at him in surprise. "Kill me."

"Kill you?" Sam repeated. "Don't you think that would be a little… _redundant?_" There was a brief pause before he continued, "I'm sorry. It must be painful, speaking to me in this shape. But it had to be your brother. It _had _to be."

Beth's brows furrowed in confusion as she glanced between them. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at her in return. "She doesn't know, does she?"

"You shut your mouth," Dean warned viciously. Beth slapped his arm roughly to get him to be quiet.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not your brother, Beth," he explained smoothly, walking closer to her. He circled her curiously, watching Dean from the corner of his eye. "My name's Lucifer. I'm an angel."

"T-the Morningstar?" she asked in disbelief. He nodded in response, smirking slightly when she flinched as he picked up a lock of her hair and tugged it roughly. "A-and Sam's your vessel?" she guessed flatly, pulling her hair free. He nodded again.

"You know, you two don't have to be afraid of me," Lucifer told them gently as he moved away from them. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"I don't know, maybe deep-fry the planet?" Dean asked roughly, breath catching in his throat.

"Why?" Lucifer asked, fingers sliding from the rose he'd been admiring. "Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? _Beautiful _in a _trillion _different ways. The last, _perfect _handiwork of God."

There was a brief silence that was quickly broken by the sound of a twig snapping and then a dark haired woman stepped into sight, the long skirt of her pure white dress brushing against her ankles as she approached them. Beth's eyes widened in amazement as she met the woman's eyes and realized—with a jolt of confusion and disbelief—that it was an older version of _her. _

Lucifer glanced behind him, stretching his arm out and offering her his hand. She took it, linking their fingers together as she stood beside him.

"Did you ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?" Lucifer queried.

"Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bed time story are you? My stomach's almost out of bile," Dean retorted, gaining an amused smile from his sister.

Lucifer looked unamused at their insolence. "You know _why _God cast me down? Because I loved Him, more than _anything. _And then God created _you…_ the little hairless apes." A look of bitter hatred crossed his face. "And then He asked all of us to bow down before you, to love _you _more than _Him._ And I said, "Father, I can't." I said, "These human beings are _flawed, murderous." _And for that, God had Michael cast me into _Hell. _So, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime?"

Beth shared a mutual look of 'are you believing this nonsense?' with Dean before her eyes were drawn back to the older version of her. She still couldn't get over the fact that she was staring at her future self, especially when Cas had told her that she'd died two years ago.

"Especially when I was right," Lucifer continued, regaining their attention. "Look what six billion of you have done to this thing… and how many of you blame me for it?"

"You're not fooling me, you know that?" Dean asked rhetorically. Lucifer tilted his head to the side curiously and future Beth's eyes flickered between Lucifer and Dean suspiciously. "With your 'sympathy—for—the—devil crap'. I _know _what you are."

"What am I?" Lucifer asked calmly.

"You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life," Dean explained harshly, ignoring the way the devil's eyes hardened at his words. "An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The _only _difference between them and you, is the size of your ego."

Lucifer's lips twitched into a mock-fond smile as he tilted his head to the side again. "I like you, Dean. Beth too. I get what the other angels see in you—neither of you take any nonsense from anyone… and you, Dean, are awfully protective of her. You actually remind me of myself and my younger brother Gabriel, we were inseparable and I always protected him from any possible threat." He fell silent as he glanced over at Beth's doppleganger, she stared up at him in return, awaiting his command.

"Wait!" Beth called when the two turned to leave. They both glanced at her at once, causing her to almost lose her nerve. "Cas… h-he told me she was dead."

"Oh yes, I brought her back," Lucifer explained, his hazel eyes meeting hers. "And removed her memories of them. She's the perfect soldier, what with the angel blood in her."

"Wait, what?" Dean interrupted. Beth shot Lucifer an annoyed glare, which he returned with a mischievous grin.

"Anyway, we have places to be," Lucifer started. "Goodbye, Dean, Beth. We'll meet again soon."

"You better kill me now!" Dean yelled, unwilling to let him just walk away.

"Pardon?" the angel queried as he turned back towards them.

"You better kill me now. Or I _swear, _I will _find a way _to kill you," Dean continued, voice gruff and tears in his eyes. "And I won't stop."

"I know you won't," Lucifer assured him softly. "I know you won't say yes to Michael and Beth won't say yes to Raphael. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will _always _end up here… Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter… _we _will _always _end up here. I win, so I win."

"You're wrong," Dean said desperately, a tear trickling down his cheek. Beth frowned up in concern, clutching his arm tightly.

"See you in five years, Dean, Beth," Lucifer told them. There was another flash of lightening and both Lucifer and future Beth disappeared in flash of light.

Beth continued to cling to Dean, even as he turned around and they came face-to-face with Zachariah. The angel placed two fingers on each of their heads and a bright light blinded them.

* * *

_**Kansas City, Missouri**_

_**August 30th, 2009**_

Beth let out a low groan as her and Dean abruptly landed in the middle of a motel room and she swayed awkwardly on her feet, trying to regain her balance. Dean looked up and growled in irritation as he caught sight of Zachariah.

"Well, if it isn't the ghost-of-Christmas-screw-you," Dean snarked, glaring at the angel.

"Enough," Zachariah ordered softly. "Dean, enough. You both saw it, right? You saw what happens? You're the only one who can prove the devil wrong. Just say _yes._"

"How do I know that this whole thing isn't just one of your tricks?" Dean demanded and Beth nodded in agreement. "Some sort of angel hocus pocus?"

"The time for tricks is over," Zachariah assured them honestly. "Give yourself to Michael, and you to Raphael, Bethany. Say yes and we can strike, before Lucifer can get to Sam. Before _billions _die."

Beth bit her lip, she understood what he was telling them, and she knew that saying yes could prevent it, but she didn't think she would _ever _agree to it if Dean didn't. Beth was forced to let go of Dean as he moved away, walking past Zachariah, the angel followed his example, turning with Dean. Beth walked after him, coming to stand a few feet from Zachariah as they both watched her brother.

"…Nah," Dean said finally.

"'Nah'?" Zachariah echoed in disbelief, sending a glance at Beth, who simply shrugged in return. She knew no more than he did about where her brother was going with this. "You're telling me you haven't learned your lesson?"

"Oh, I learned a lesson, just not the one _you _wanted to teach," Dean explained.

"Well, I'll just have to teach it again," Zachariah said sternly, approaching them slowly. Beth backed away from him, bumping into her brother. "Cause I got you now, you two, and I'm _never _letting you—" Zachariah was cut off as Beth and Dean both disappeared from the motel room.

The siblings landed on the sidewalk in the middle of nowhere, sharing a confused look before they turned to find Castiel standing behind them. Beth let out a grateful laugh as she lunged at Cas, throwing her arms around his neck. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist to prevent her from falling.

"That's pretty nice timing, Cas," Dean told the angel over Beth's shoulder.

"Well, I believe we had an appointment," Cas said in response. Dean set a hand on Cas' shoulder and raised a hand, pointing at him.

"Don't _ever _change," he told Cas sternly.

"How did Zachariah find you?" Cas asked, still holding on to a clingy Beth.

"Long story," Dean sighed as he took out his phone and flipped it open.

Beth pulled away from Cas' arms as Dean walked a few feet away to call Sam. "Words cannot describe how glad I am to see you, Cas," she whispered. He smiled crookedly in return. Beth met his eyes and was moving in before she knew what she was doing, she cupped his face and kissed him quickly. Cas froze in surprise, but Beth was pulling away before he could do anything. "I agree with Dean, don't ever change."

* * *

_**August 31**__**st**__**, 2009**_

The next day found Beth and Dean waiting patiently by the Impala as they waited for Sam to arrive. Beth was just grateful that Dean had finally gotten over his stubbornness and had told Sam that he wanted him to join them again.

A few minutes passed before an unfamiliar car appeared, driving down the trail towards them. Beth sent an excited look at Dean as she waited for Sam to get out of the car. The moment he did, and the car door was shut, Beth darted in his direction, colliding with her insanely tall brother roughly. She hugged him around the waist, grinning happily as his arms went around her shoulders and he held her tightly, leaning down to press a kiss to her hair.

"It's good to see you, Beth," he whispered.

"You too," she returned, refusing to let go of him even as Dean walked over to them, his eyes lighting up at the sight of his two siblings reuniting.

"Sam," Dean greeted. Sam stayed silent, though he shifted nervously as Dean pulled out the demon killing knife and held it up in mid-air. Beth simply glanced back at it, knowing that Dean wasn't going to hurt either of them. Dean flipped the knife around so the hilt was facing Sam. "If you're serious, if you want back in… you should hang onto this. I'm sure you're rusty."

Sam hesitated before reaching out and accepting the knife. He remained quiet, causing Beth to pinch him roughly and Dean to shift awkwardly on his feet.

"Look, man. I'm sorry," Dean started. "I don't know… whatever I need to be… but I was _wrong._"

"What made you change your mind?" Sam asked finally, meeting Dean's gaze.

"Long story," Dean sighed and Beth nodded in agreement from her position between them—she had yet to stop hugging Sam. "The point is, maybe we _are _each other's Achilles' heel. Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know, we're all we've got, Beth included… more than that, we keep each other human."

"Thank you," Sam said genuinely, for both apologizing and letting him back in. "Really, _thank you._ I won't let you down."

"Oh, I know it," Dean assured him immediately. "I mean, you are the second best hunter on the planet."

"…So, what do we do now?"

"We make our own future," Dean declared, gaining a proud smile from Beth.

"Guess we have no choice," Sam continued for his brother.

"I second that," Beth mumbled against his jacket.

"Right, it's time to get going," Dean said, waiting as Sam moved away from Beth towards the trunk of his 'borrowed' car. He got his duffel bag out and headed back towards them.

Beth grinned mischievously at her brothers before she shouted, "Shotgun!" and started running towards the Impala. Sam caught up to her in three quick strides and hooked an arm around her waist, lifting her off of the ground, even as she screamed in protest before laughing manically. Dean snorted in amusement and rolled his eyes at their antics.

He was just glad his family was back together again.


	17. Memories

**_"All of my memories keep you near,_**

**_The silent whispers, the silent tears."_**

**_—_**_**Memories, Within Temptation.**_

* * *

**September 6****th****, 2009**

**Scottsdale, Arizona**

"Leave me alone, Dean!" Beth grumbled as her brother threw yet _another _piece of candy at her. Her oldest brother winked at her in response. "Sam, tell him!"

"Dean, leave Beth alone," Sam said half-heartedly, glancing away from the wheel for a few seconds. "Beth, ignore him and just read your damn book—I'm busy, _trying to drive_."

Beth pouted dramatically before throwing the candy back at Dean, successfully hitting him in the face. She let out a triumphant shout and cackled loudly at Dean's disgruntled look—she was glad she had her seatbelt on or she would've fallen off her seat in her amusement.

"Why are you throwing those things at each other?" Castiel asked, confused. Beth tipped her head to the side and looked over at him.

"Because Dean's an ass and deserves it," she explained with a grin. Castiel turned and eyed Dean critically.

"He doesn't look like a donkey."

"I-I didn't mean that he was an _actual _donkey," Beth got out between giggles. "It's meant as an insult, Cas."

The angel looked rather put out at that as he let a quiet "Oh," slip from his lips.

"What an idiot," Dean snorted in amusement. Beth shot him a warning look and slapped his shoulder.

"Don't be an asshole, Dean," she scolded before undoing her seatbelt and shuffle over to sit beside Cas and pat him on the arm. "Ignore my brother—it's just his time of the month."

"Pay no attention to them, Cas," Sam told him with a smile. "They've been bickering like that for the past few days now. It's actually getting quite annoying."

"Yeah, well. What else can I do when I've been stuck in this car with you two for days and I'm not allowed to even go to the bathroom by myself whenever we stop, I mean, Dean always escorts me to the bathroom and waits outside until I'm done before practically shoving me back in the car," Beth countered with a scowl.

"Why is that?" Cas asked, sending her a surprisingly concerned look.

"They don't want to let me out of their sight after last time when Michael kidnapped me," she explained grumpily. "They seem to forget that I'm still a teenager and get bored easily… and that if I want to wander off on my own, then I will."

"I could take you out?" Castiel offered hesitantly, his deep blue eyes locking on her hazel ones.

"Really?" She grinned, her face lighting up at his offer. He nodded in confirmation and Beth let out a happy shout. "Yes! Can we go to the beach?"

"Yes, if you'd like."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea—" Dean started and Beth was quick to silence him with a glare.

"Yes, _it is. _If I have to spend five more minutes locked up in this car with you, I might actually rethink my policy on not killing you," she said firmly as she met his gaze. "Besides, if it makes you feel any better, you two can come to the beach as well."

"Well, I don't know about Dean, but I think a day at the beach might help us all de-stress and get along again," Sam said thoughtfully, turning slightly to wink at an eager Beth.

"_Fine. _Fine, we'll go to the beach," Dean agreed begrudgingly. Beth cheered happily and punched Dean's arm fondly, gaining a small smile from her older brother.

"You're such an idiot," Dean grumbled, though not unkindly.

* * *

"Y'know, she has a point, Dean," Sam said to his brother as they sat in the car, waiting for Beth and Cas to finish buying everything they'd need for the beach. "You mother her too much. She needs her space."

"Yeah? Well, the last few times she's been alone, she's been tortured by ghouls, strangled by you and kidnapped by angels, so _forgive me _if I don't want her to be alone or defenceless ever again," Dean snapped defensively.

"But she's not alone, Dean," Sam replied, trying to ignore the guilt he felt as he remembered the terrified look on Beth's face as he choked her until she passed out. "She has Castiel and we know he won't let any harm come to her."

"Yeah, about that—I'm not so sure he should be around her so much. I don't like the way he looks at her."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, a clueless frown on his face.

"He stares at her too much and he sits—and stands—far too close to her," Dean explained gruffly.

"…I think you're being paranoid—Cas is like that with everyone. Besides, even if what you say is true, there's no way you could split them up."

"_What? _Why?" Dean looked surprisingly alarmed at his brother's words and Sam raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Because Beth wouldn't let you. She's grown rather attached to the scruffy angel."

"I… I don't like it," Dean said finally.

"You don't have to like it, you just have to deal with it." Sam sent his brother a small smile, which Dean ignored and turned to look at Cas and Beth as they headed towards the car—the latter laughed at something the angel said and nudged him in the side with her elbow, grinning widely up at him. The eldest Winchester scowled, he didn't like it at all. His future self's words echoed around his head and he made a silent promise to do whatever it took to keep them apart.

* * *

"Ah, this is so exciting!" Beth beamed, practically bouncing on her heels as they got closer and closer to the beach.

"It's just a beach," Dean snorted. Beth turned and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I haven't been to one since dad visited Adam, mom and I when I was 13," she told him firmly. Dean nodded in understanding and was quick to catch the bag Beth threw at him before she started running away from the group.

"Beth! Slow down!" Sam shouted. Beth waved a hand back at them and continued on towards an ice cream van by the steps that led down to the beach.

"She is so immature," Dean said fondly.

"Well, she would be consider a fledgling if she were an Angel up in Heaven," Castiel stated suddenly. Sam found himself nodding thoughtfully at the angel's words and Dean smirked in reply.

"So, she's a baby everywhere then. I can't _wait _to tell her," Dean said, right before he took off towards where his sister was buying an ice cream cone.

"I can't believe I'm related to those idiots," Sam sighed under his breath. Castiel glanced at him in confusion.

"I thought you were extremely close to them?"

"I am… well, Dean more so than Beth right now but sometimes it's hard to believe that I have two immature kids for siblings."

"Oh…"

"We should catch up to them before a fight breaks out," Sam told the angel with a smile. Beth and Dean were arguing about the ice cream when Sam and Cas caught up to them. "Are you seriously arguing over types of ice cream?"

"Yes!" Dean and Beth exclaimed in unison.

"He said chocolate's better than strawberry!" Beth told Sam, eyes wide. "I can't believe he said that!"

"It is better! Strawberry is for babies," Dean countered with a smug grin.

Beth gasped in disbelief and glared up at him. "Take that back!"

"No, I won't. Sam would agree with me." Dean said. Sam smiled in amusement but continued to stay out of it.

"Yeah? Well Adam would agree with me, wouldn't you, Adam?" Beth asked, turning away from Dean. Her face abruptly fell when she realized what she'd said and that her twin wasn't there. The others fell silent in pity and Dean took the ice cream from her without a fuss as she hurried away from them towards the toilets.

"Should… should someone go after her?" Castiel questioned hesitantly, glancing at the Winchester brothers. Dean shook his head and took off, dumping the slowly melting ice cream into a nearby trash can.

"No, just give her some time," Sam said softly, patting Cas' shoulder as he followed his brother in the opposite direction to the men's toilets so they could change out of their jeans, jackets and flannel shirts and into a pair of board shorts and keeping their short sleeved, turtle neck t-shirts on. Castiel changed into the clothes Beth had convinced him to buy and folded his suit jacket, shirt and slacks and stuck them in the plastic bag with his tie. He put his trench coat back on over his shorts and t-shirt.

The three men met up again about five minutes later and waited patiently for Beth to return. The young brunette appeared minutes later, carrying the beach bag she'd taken back from Dean before she ran off. She was wearing a see-through, white sun dress with black strips over her black bikini and had a pair of black sandals on her feet.

"We, uh, we should get going then," she said quietly as she reached them. Dean nodded, slinging his arm around her shoulders and tugging her down the steps to the soft sand. The tall, dark blonde haired male did his best to ignore the way Cas had been staring at Beth's bikini-clad form when she'd first approached them.

* * *

A few hours later, Beth and Castiel were sitting on a large blanket on the sand while Dean and Sam played volleyball with a group of others that had invited them to join in about 20 minutes ago.

"They look like they're having fun," Castiel said to break the silence between them. Beth smiled softly and nodded, turning to look at the angel.

"Are you?" she asked curiously. "Having fun that is?"

"Yes, I believe I am," he admitted quietly. "This is my first time at a beach."

"Really?" A thoughtful look crossed her face and she stood up quickly before holding her hands out to him. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Well, if this is your first time going to the beach, we _have _to go swimming," she told him firmly. She peeled off her sun dress, dropping it on the blanket before kicking off her sandals.

"Swimming?" Cas repeated doubtfully. Beth nodded, telling him that he'd have to leave his trench coat and t-shirt behind if he didn't want them to get ruined. Cas did as he was told, divesting the coat and blue t-shirt and setting them down beside her dress. Beth cleared her throat and diverted her eyes away from his smooth, muscular chest and abdomen.

"Let's go," she smiled, holding a hand out again. Castiel took it, curling his fingers through hers. The angel followed the human across the sand and down towards the ocean without a fuss. Beth sent a couple of smiles over her shoulder at him before she tugged her hand free and charged into the surprisingly warm water. "Come on, Cas!"

"What do we do now?" Cas asked when he reached her. The water lapped up against his hips as he stood still and looked down at her.

"Now we swim," she explained, slowly tipping backwards until she floated back and forth, the warm water soaking her hair and skin. She started moving her arms slowly, pushing her further and further away from the shore and Castiel followed her example, floating on his back beside her.

"This doesn't seem like swimming."

"Well, this is more like floating," Beth admitted, turning her head slightly to look at him. "But I could show you how to swim properly, if you'd like?"

Cas nodded, trying not to show how eager he was. Beth grinned and pushed herself back up into a standing position so she could explain to him how to swim.

* * *

The dark haired angel got the hang of it eventually and the two of them were soon swimming side-by-side away from the beach, though Beth made sure they weren't too far away from the shore, knowing that her brothers would freak out if they found the two of them gone.

"This is fun," Beth sighed after about ten minutes of swimming around. "I just wish Adam and my mom were here—they'd like you," she said before blushing and adding, "Sam and Dean too, of course."

"They're at peace now, Beth," Cas told her gently as they made it back to the shore and walked over to where their stuff was.

"I know," she said. "But I still miss them." She pushed her dripping wet hair back from her face before squeezing the excess water from the tangled locks. She hesitated before looking up at Castiel. "Do you know what their heavens are like?"

"I caught a brief glimpse of them," Cas admitted, blinking in surprise as Beth curled up against his side, resting her head on his chest. The nephilim girl pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them tightly.

"Can you tell me about them?" Beth asked in a small voice. Castiel nodded firmly.

"Adam Milligan's heaven is based around all the trips he took with you and your mom," he explained, his chest rumbling against her cheek. "He liked it more when it was just you, your mom and him, without your dad there. Adam's favourite trip was the one you took to that playground when you were 9 years old. He remembered how happy your mom looked when she watched you play on the swings and on the monkey bars." Beth smiled fondly at the memory, though she felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes. "Your mom's memories in heaven are when she first met John Winchester and then all the times you spent together as a proper family before he would have to leave again. The memory I caught a proper glimpse of, the one that replayed itself the most was when you and Adam were born—it was the happiest and _proudest _moment of her life, knowing that she'd given birth to such strong children."

Beth curled herself tighter into Cas' side, biting back a sob. Castiel sighed softly and slipped his arm around her, holding her against him as she finally let the tears fall.

"It's okay to cry," he whispered into her ear.

Beth nodded but covered her face with her hands as she continued to cry. The angel hesitantly rubbed her arm, liked he'd seen a lot of humans do when they were comforting another that was upset. He was starting to think that maybe he shouldn't have told her, especially when it had resulted in her being in tears.

* * *

At the other end of the beach, stood a small group of men and women, all of them watching their brother and the Winchester bastard child.

"This is getting out of hand," one of the women said, looking up at their oldest brother. "Michael, what are we going to do? Every moment Castiel is with her and her brothers is just another step closer to us losing him for good. That _abomination _is corrupting him. We need to save him."

"And we will, dear Ariel," Michael assured his sister. He turned his icy eyes on her and she met them defiantly. "All in due time."

"Time is running out, Michael!" Ariel hissed back, ignoring the warning looks she got from the others. "He is _dying. _His grace is fading away as we speak. W-we can't let him die!"

Michael raised a hand and gently stroked Ariel's cheek. "I will offer Castiel a choice—forsake those Winchesters and come back home or continue to stand against us and face the consequences. If Castiel refuses my offer, it will be the last time he defies me and he _will die _for it."

Ariel's brown eyes widened in horror but she forced herself to nod in acceptance, knowing that arguing would be pointless and Michael would only punish her for standing against him. She turned her dark eyes back towards where her little brother Castiel was sitting, comforting the weeping Nephilim.

Ariel made a promise to herself that somehow she would save Castiel and bring him home—even if it meant killing the young nephil girl.


	18. One in the Same

**"We are one in the same, you and I. The last remnants of an ancient race."**

**\- Lord Geremy, (Nephilim the Remnants)**

* * *

Beth wasn't entirely sure how it happened, to be completely honest. One minute she was with Castiel, trying to help him track down God whilst Sam and Dean worked on a hunt and the next, she was waking up in a dark room, her arms tied above her head with a gag in her mouth.

A pained groan was muffled by the cloth in her mouth as she moved slightly, her feet dragging across the ground and a throbbing sensation radiated across the back of her head. A loud screech had her flinching violently, the sound making her head ache even more.

A familiar demon woman with brown hair and eyes entered the room, a cruel grin playing at her lips as she eyed Beth up and down eagerly. "You're awake, _good. _I was starting to think I'd hit you too hard."

Beth glared at her angrily and a few curses were smothered by her gag. The other woman tutted quietly, approaching Beth with slow, steady footsteps. When she was close enough, she reached out and eased the gag from Beth's mouth, tugging it roughly down until it hung around her neck.

"What the hell is this?" Beth demanded immediately, voice hoarse. "Where am I?"

"Well, I can't tell you that, now can I?" the demon asked coyly as she winked teasingly at Beth. "It's a secret."

"I don't care. _Why _am I here?"

"Because it was meant to be, you half angel spawn you," the demon taunted. Beth's eyes widened in shock, no one else knew that except for her and Dean—though he didn't know the whole story, he only knew what Lucifer had told them in the future.

"How do you know that?" she asked defensively.

"I could smell it on you the moment our paths crossed in that old gas station," the brown haired female replied, leaning back against the wall. "It's an overpowering stench that nearly knocked me on my ass. Same with the other demons, damn nearly took them down too. Though, I have to admit, you're nothin' like the ones I've met in the past. They were in full control of the juice they had brewing inside of them, but you don't… which is weird. Why is that?"

Beth was silent for a moment until a knife suddenly appeared in the demon's hand and she sliced the blade across Beth's stomach. A cry of pain escaped and Beth jerked against her restraints, trying to curl inwards to protect herself.

"I-I don't know," she gasped, moving up onto her tip toes to get away from the sharp point of the knife. "I never knew what I was before, I only found out recently. I don't know what '_juice_' you're talking about. I know nothing about Nephilim, I swear."

Another cut—smaller this time—was left across her face, from the corner of her eye to the edge of her mouth. "I don't believe you."

"It's the truth," Beth whispered desperately, "up until recently, I thought I was just a regular human. I didn't know."

The demon went to stab Beth this time—and the nephil was quick to close her eyes tightly—when the sound of a bored voice filled the air.

"Enough Meg."

"Yes Father," Meg backed down immediately, though the look she sent Beth suggested she would like nothing more than to stick her knife in Beth and twist it until the other woman was begging for mercy.

Meg turned on her heel, handing the knife to her 'Father' when he held a hand out to her before she left the room and closed the door behind her. Beth was glad to see her go, though she wasn't too excited to now be locked in the room with the being capable of creating something as evil as Meg.

"So what, you're gonna take a turn stabbing the poor, defenceless girl?" Beth taunted bitterly, glaring at the man. She couldn't see his face as he stood by the door, hidden by the shadows. "Y'know, I'd like to see the face of my soon-to-be-torturer."

"Now, what makes you think I am going to torture you?" he asked smoothly, finally stepping into the light.

"Just call it an educated guess," she replied snarkily. The blonde man shook his head, a look of amusement flashing across his face as he folded his arms over his chest.

"You certainly get your attitude from your father and brothers," he mused softly. Beth glared back at him in response. "I was under the impression there were two Milligan-Winchester twins, tell me, where is your twin brother?"

Beth swallowed deeply, her heart skipped a beat. "That's none of your damn business."

"I think you'll find it is."

"And why is that?"

"All the Nephilim children are my business," he explained carefully. "I was the one who created your race after all."

Beth shook her head, pressing her lips together firmly as she turned her head away from him. A hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her chin tightly, forcing her head back around so he could look her in the eyes.

"_Where _is Adam Milligan?"

"He died," she whispered brokenly. Her body sagged against his, her chin sinking deeper into his grip.

"…How?"

"T-There were Ghouls," Beth's voice shook as she spoke. "They tore him apart."

* * *

"What the hell do you mean, 'Beth's gone?'" Dean demanded furiously, glaring at Castiel. The angel looked back at him, regret shining in his blue eyes. His arms hung limply by his sides.

"We were searching for my Father," Castiel started, his eyes flickering between the Winchester brothers. "They came out of nowhere and I couldn't fight them all off at once—there were too many and by the time I managed to free myself, she was gone."

"Who took her?"

"I'm not sure," Cas explained reluctantly. "It wasn't just demons that attacked us, there were others too."

"What others?" Sam asked.

"Fallen Angels and…"

"And _what?_" Dean growled.

"They had Nephilim working with them."

* * *

"What do you want from me?" Beth asked, head leaning heavily against her restrained right arm.

"I'm curious about you," he replied. The blonde man was sitting on a chair in front of her. "My brother's seem unusually attached to you… at first I didn't know why, but now I do—Meg confirmed it for me. You're a Nephilim that had no knowledge of what you are or the powers you possess."

"I don't have any powers," Beth denied. "And I don't see why I should talk to you at all when I don't even know your name."

"My name is Lucifer."

Beth started at his name, her eyes widening in fear. Lucifer seemed to have been expecting her reaction as he smiled a small, bitter smile.

"I guess you've heard all the stories about me then," Lucifer stated. Beth nodded hesitantly. "I'm not going to hurt you, Beth. I've never hurt your kind before and I don't plan on starting now."

"What kind is that? Humans or angels?"

"Nephilims," he corrected.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because I can help you figure out why you still don't have your powers when you should've gotten them when you were a young child."

"…How?" Beth asked, trying to hide the eager tone in her voice.

Lucifer snapped his fingers and the handcuffs sprung free. Beth let out a huff as she was abruptly dumped on the floor as a result. She rubbed her aching wrists, climbing to her feet and facing him.

"I can shift through your memories," he explained softly. "See if I can find out what's causing this… this mental block on your gifts."

"Will it hurt?" she said in return. Her head was screaming at her, telling her not to trust him, to get as far away from him as possible but her heart was completely calm, as if telling her that everything would be okay and he wouldn't intentionally hurt her.

"Possibly. Who knows?" He shrugged casually in response.

"O-okay," Beth nodded, preparing herself for any sort of pain that was to come. "Go for it."

Lucifer raised his hands, cupping her face between two icy palms. Beth's breath hitched at the temperature of his skin and her eyes fell shut as he stepped closer and their chests pressed together—she tensed immediately.

"Relax," he whispered, his breath washing over her face. Beth forced the tension from her body with a small amount of struggle.

And then he was in her head, shifting his way through every memory she'd ever had. "Wait… I see something," he told her as he abruptly paused her memories and rewound them until he came back across one from when she was five years old that seemed to be pushed back away from all her other memories.

"What… what is it?" Beth asked breathlessly, the feeling of him in her head made her body ache and her knees weak.

"An angel," Lucifer replied in confusion. "Two angels. They're with you and your brother in your living room."

"What? I don't remember that," she said, panic filling her voice.

"They're using a spell on you and Adam, binding your powers," he explained, examining the memory from every angle. Seconds later, Lucifer pulled himself from her mind and released his grip on her face. "They locked your memories of what you are away."

"Why? Who are they?"

He didn't answer, he put his hands back on her face and whispered something under his breath. Beth let out a cry as white hot pain shot through her head and memories she didn't even know she had were spilling into her mind, mixing with her older ones.

"I… I haven't seen that face for the longest time," Lucifer said, voice tight with regret and sadness.

"Who's face?"

"My brother, Gabriel."

* * *

"How will we find her?" Sam asked, looking up at Castiel.

"I don't know," Castiel admitted reluctantly. He kept his eyes on Sam, trying not to take offense at the look of pure anger Dean was sending him.

"Could you sense her?"

"No, she has shielding sigils on her ribs. I cannot find her."

"What about Michael?" Dean asked suddenly. "Or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel? Could they find her?"

Cas paused, contemplating his human friend's words. "There's a possibility they could find their way around the sigils, but I don't think calling on them would be a good idea. I would not want them to get you and Beth in their grasp."

"Well, we have to find her somehow."

"There is someone else who could possibly help," Castiel explained slowly. "If we ask her politely and you show her some respect, she may be inclined to help."

"Who is this chick you're talking about?"

"Archangel Ariel," Castiel replied. "She is more lenient than her older brothers. Though, she can just be as violent when she wants to be."

"What are we waiting for? Call her down."

"Ariel, it's Castiel," the dark haired angel began, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. "We need your help. Please."

A few seconds passed, Castiel and the Winchesters all looked between each other, waiting for a sign that Ariel had heard them. The flutter of wings filled the air and they all spun around to find a tall woman with black hair and brown eyes standing by the door, arms crossed over her chest.

"What do you want, Castiel?" Ariel demanded. Castiel rewarded her with a hesitant smile.

"We need your help."

"I'm not going to help any of you," Ariel hissed, glaring fiercely at Sam and Dean. The two brothers shared a confused look. "If Michael finds out I even answered your call he'll punish me."

"Beth's been taken," Castiel explained. "I thought you would be able to find her despite the shielding sigils."

"Why should I help you?"

"Because you always do."

Ariel clenched her jaw, eyes narrowing at her little brother. "Fine, I'll find the abomination for you but _you will not _call me again, do you understand?"

Castiel was taken aback at the venom in Ariel's voice, he had no idea what he had done to be on the receiving end of his sister's fury but he forced himself to nod in agreement.

"Thank you, Ariel," he whispered. Ariel nodded sharply.

* * *

After Lucifer had seen Gabriel in Beth's memory, he had decided it would be a good idea to heal her and take her to meet more of her kind so she could see what they were like.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Beth said, eyes flickering nervously between the people they passed on either side of the hallway. They were staring at Beth and most of their eyes turned pitch black or red when she met their gaze.

"They will not harm you, you are safe here," he assured her with a sly smirk.

"Somehow, I don't find that very reassuring," she retorted. He shrugged in response.

"Father, you're back!" a teenager with red hair smiled happily as they entered the room. She hurried over and wrapped her arms around Lucifer. Beth stared on in surprise.

"Beth, this is Sophie. She's a nephil too," Lucifer explained, introducing the two females.

"This is Bethany?" Sophie asked with a smile playing at her lips. She continued hugging her 'Father'.

"Do I know you?" Beth frowned, eyeing the younger girl suspiciously.

"Nephilim are all connected. She can sense you."

"_Sense me?_" Beth repeated, sounding slightly disturbed at the news.

"It's easy. I can show you, if you'd like?"

"O… Okay," Beth agreed, smiling hesitantly at Sophie.

Sophie grinned, pulling away from Lucifer so she could grab Beth's hand and pull her towards the door. Beth sent a panicked look back at Lucifer before she was dragged from the room. Lucifer simply smirked at her in reply.

* * *

"Now, you're gonna need to relax," Sophie started, sitting across from Beth and folding her legs underneath her. Beth followed the other girl's instruction, taking a deep breath and expelling it slowly.

"Okay, what now?"

"Take my hands." Beth nodded, taking Sophie's hands in hers. "Close your eyes and focus on the sound of my voice. Now, I'm going to show you how to sense another nephil."

Beth listened to everything Sophie said and did as she was told, trying to find the part of her that could sense another nephil's aura. She couldn't find it at first, and her frustration had just started to build when she felt it, a slight warmth that emitted from her chest, followed quickly by a glowing silver-grey light. Her eyes snapped open and she gasped, staring at Sophie in awe—the red haired girl was surrounded by the same light Beth had seen when her eyes had been closed.

"Do you see it?" Sophie asked. Beth nodded eagerly.

"You're glowing…" Beth trailed off in amazement. Sophie smiled, amused at her sort-of-cousin's reaction.

"So are you. Yours is more bluish-white than silver-grey."

"Is… is that a bad thing?" Beth asked hesitantly.

"No. It's not a bad thing," Sophie assured her quickly. "Y'know, I'm glad you're here."

"Why is that?" Beth questioned, though she was more interested in watching the aura around Sophie as it moved in time with her.

"You're where you belong—with your own kind," Sophie explained airily. "I think you're gonna fit in well around here, Bethany Milligan."


	19. The Devil's Hold

"I thought I told you never to contact me unless it was an emergency?" Gabriel demanded, golden wings fully extended and filling the entire area behind him.

"It _is _an emergency," Ariel retorted, completely unfazed by her younger brother's defensive pose. "Our little, rebellious, fool of a brother has lost the half Winchester girl."

"…_What?_"

"They were attacked and she was taken while Castiel was surrounded," Ariel explained calmly.

"How long has she been gone?" Gabriel growled. He took a threatening step forward.

"Almost a week now," she admitted quietly.

"A week! Why am I only hearing of this now?"

"Because I thought I could Castiel and I would be enough to track her down and retrieve her," Ariel said defensively. "But she's hidden beyond even my reach. _That _is why I came to you, Gabriel, I need your help."

"I'm only going to help you for Beth's sake," Gabriel replied finally. "Do you know anything about her disappearance?"

"Only that Lucifer's minions were the ones who attacked Castiel and Beth," Ariel replied. "Gabriel, he has _Nephilim_ working for him. What are we going to do? You and I both know how dangerous and out of control they are."

"We're not going to do anything," Gabriel told her firmly. Ariel sent him a flabbergasted look, her eyebrows drawn together. "Beth is meant to lead them for a reason, you know this. If we interfere, who knows what the consequences might be."

"But Gabriel—"

"But nothing, Ariel," Gabriel cut her off abruptly. Ariel's jaw snapped shut with an audible snap and she glared at her brother. "Go back to Castiel, tell him you have a lead on Beth and wait for my call."

Ariel nodded begrudgingly and bowed her head before she teleported away from the deserted parking lot, leaving her caramel haired brother behind.

* * *

"Sophie, slow down!" Beth called as she chased after her sort-of-cousin. The red head skidded to a sudden stop, almost causing Beth to crash into her before she managed to stop herself.

"Why? You know he'll get mad if we're late again," Sophie groaned, taking Beth's hand and tugging her along quickly.

"He can suck it up. It's not our fault we were helping the others out."

"Like he'll believe us," the younger female mumbled as they finally made it to the training field. "He doesn't like us at all."

"That's because we're bad influences on the others," Beth grinned smugly. Sophie shook her head in obvious amusement.

"You got that right," the red head agreed, returning Beth's smile. The two girls reached their destination a couple minutes later and slipped into their designated spot at the end of the front row on the left.

The other Nephilim sent them amused looks from the corner of their eyes and tried—and failed—to hold back their snickers. Their teacher spun around with a fierce glare on his face. The Nephilim fell silent immediately, bowing their heads with their hands clasped behind their backs.

"Milligan, Reynolds. Late _again _I see," Jonah stated, lips spreading into a thin line. "What's your excuse this time? A cat got stuck up a tree?"

"We were helping Father," Sophie replied loudly. Quiet, startled gasps filled the air at Sophie's words and Jonah's angry expression faltered immediately, being replaced with a look of bitter understanding.

"I see. I'll let you off on this occasion," he began, eyeing them closely, "but if you're late again, you'll be doing laps around the field until I tell you to stop, _understand_?"

"Absolutely," Beth murmured.

"Understood, Sir," Sophie agreed lowly.

"All right, back to business. Each of you pair up and spread out—we'll be going over the moves from yesterday again until you perfect it." Jonah watched as the group slowly found a partner and moved a little ways off from the rest of the Nephilim. "Milligan and Reynolds don't even think about it. You two _will not _be working together, find another partner you two."

Beth glowered at the full angel but did as she was told, regretfully moving away from Sophie and heading over to Jade—a Nephilim with bright green eyes and curly blonde hair.

"Hey Jade."

"Beth," Jade greeted, nodding curtly as she pulled her hair into a ponytail at the back of her head and faced Beth, an eager look crossing her face. "I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked."

"In your dreams, Kinney," Beth smirked playfully and Jade returned it moments later.

"Begin!" Jonah called out loudly. The fighting began as soon as he said those words and Beth ducked as Jade aimed a kick at her head. She quickly got back up and punched Jade's shoulder, causing the blonde to jerk back in pain and surprise.

The two circled each other—much like a couple of lions would before they fought. Beth watched her opponent closely, looking for any signs of weakness. She didn't have to look for long before she saw how Jade favoured her right side more than her left. Beth feinted right and then moved left as Jade attempted to block her. Beth landed a swift kick to Jade's hip but the blonde was faster, she grabbed Beth's foot and twisted before pushing the brunette away from her—Beth rolled across the ground, the breath knocked from her lungs.

She quickly flipped herself back to her feet and focussed on her half-angel strength, using it to send Jade flying back a few feet after the blonde tried to knock her down.

The others stopped their training to watch Beth and Jade's fight curiously, and a few even made some bets about who would win.

Beth made the first move and tackled Jade, sending them both crashing to the ground in a mess of flailing limbs and shouts of pain. Jade managed to get the upper hand, forcing Beth a choke hold while pinning her hands behind her back with her free hand.

"Do you yield?" Jade asked coyly, tightening her grip on Beth's neck. Beth choked on a breath as she continued to struggle against the blonde. "Give it up, Beth, you're not gonna win this one."

Beth hesitated before nodding begrudgingly and patting Jade's arm. The blonde released Beth and stepped back as the other woman fell to her knees, coughing painfully.

Jade held a hand out to her and ignored the way Beth glared bitterly at her. "Don't be proud, just take my hand."

Beth did wrapping her fingers around Jade's hand and allowing the blonde to help her up. Jade grinned teasingly at her in response.

"You're not so bad, Milligan."

"Neither are you, I guess," Beth said roughly, her throat aching. "Congratulations on beating me."

"Thank you."

They turned away from each other and headed over to their own little groups of friends, unaware of the disaster that was going to come crashing down on their heads later that day.

* * *

Ariel stood by the window, staring around her audience as they waited for her to speak. Her brother Castiel was standing in between the two sitting Winchester brothers and the older, more experienced hunter Bobby Singer was behind his desk, baseball cap balanced precariously on the edge of the surface of a book.

"There's one thing you should know before we go to rescue Beth," Ariel began, eyeing them all coldly.

"And what is that?" Dean interrupted impatiently.

"You already know, Dean Winchester," Ariel replied. "Your future self told you what she is."

"A Nephilim," Dean explained, clearing his throat awkwardly as three pairs of eyes snapped over to him. "He told me Beth and Adam are descended from a long line of Nephilim."

"No. She… she can't be one of _them,_" Castiel denied, agitation filling his face. "They are all _dead, _and rightfully so."

"Excuse me?" Dean asked as he turned on Castiel. "Are you saying that Beth should be dead too?"

"You don't understand my brother's reaction," Ariel said, stepping in to defend her brother. "The Nephilim were created by our brothers not long after Lucifer fell and the others fell with him. The half angel, half human children grew too fast in their mothers' wombs and killed them during birth. The children were fast growing and had no control over their powers… until they were taken by their fathers and trained to control themselves and to fight," Ariel took a deep breath before continuing. "Our fallen brothers sent their children after the rest of us and they devastated Heaven with their attacks. Many of our brothers and sisters died during their rebellion. Our Father came up with a plan to put an end to them. He created his own Nephilim from His grace and the blood of His archangel sons and I and put the two into the bodies of His strongest, most willing humans. His new creations were also trained to fight and they were more powerful than their cousins and they wiped them out without hesitation…" Ariel trailed off, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Keep talking, feather brain," Dean ordered, gaining nods of agreement from his brother and Bobby.

"When the last of Lucifer's Nephilim were on the brink of destruction, we were sent out to destroy the beings we had helped create. When they discovered what we were doing they turned on us. They united with their cousins and went into hiding. They've been out of our sights for a long time… until now. They've come out of hiding and there are more of them than there have ever been. Beth and her twin are descended from the first two Nephil our Father made. The others will look to her as a leader and there is a big chance that Bethany will put up a fight and refuse to let us take her away from where she is. She is among her own now and she feels at home."

"She's our sister, of course she'll want to leave," Sam said, sounding completely sure of himself. Dean was the complete opposite of his brother, he didn't look too sure of anything after Ariel's story.

* * *

"Are you certain this is the place?" Ariel queried. Gabriel stood on one side of her and Castiel on the other. The lower angel had been a little hesitant—understandably—to work with Gabriel after learning that he'd been alive this whole time and in hiding, until he had been reminded that they were all there for Beth and didn't have time to deal with their family issues in that current moment.

"It took a while to find it but this is it," Gabriel assured her. He had his archangel blade clutched tightly in his right hand.

"We all remember the plan then?" Ariel asked. "The main goal is to get in and get out as quickly as possible with Beth in our possession. If you're attacked, spare no one and watch your back, don't let them get their arms around you or surprise you from behind."

"Yes, Archangel Ariel," Castiel said and bowed his head respectfully. Gabriel nodded as well to show he understood.

"Let us go then."

The three angels let out their graces in a combined force of power at the house—the house explode, wood and debris flying in all directions as the sounds of screams and cries filled the air. Ariel shared a look with her brothers before they were on the move, walking with purpose towards the destroyed house.

* * *

Beth's ears were ringing and her head aching. She couldn't understand what had happened, one moment her, Sophie and Jade had been sitting with Terry and Jade's brother Luke discussing the inevitable war that was fast-approaching and the next, the mansion was exploding and her new-found family were crying out in terror as they were all thrown off their feet.

Beth's hair fell into her face as she weakly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, looking around through blurry eyes. The bottom floor was littered with debris and bodies. Blood was splattered across the walls.

"S… Sophie," Beth gasped out, forcing herself to crawl across the floor towards the strawberry-blonde girl. Sophie was lying on her stomach, her face pale and smeared with blood. She was pinned under a large pile of wood from the roof of the house. "God, _no._" Beth grabbed the wood at the bottom of the pile and strained herself trying to lift it. "Come on," she growled out through clenched teeth. She focused on the grace she had inside herself and shoved at the wood, sending it crashing off of Sophie.

The slightly smaller girl was limp and not moving as Beth moved closer. The dark haired nephil let out a sob, pulling Sophie into her lap and cradling her friend. "No, Sophie. _Please._"

"Beth!" Beth's head snapped up at the sound of Castiel's voice. Her watery eyes met Cas' and she sobbed again before turning back to Sophie. "Beth, we need to go now."

Beth shook her head in refusal, clutching Sophie tighter. Castiel glanced between the two girls in pity, knowing that what he was going to do would make Beth hate him. He grabbed Beth under her arms and slowly pulled her out from under Sophie, ignoring the way she protested and fought against him. Sophie's body slipped back to the floor and Beth fought harder, desperate to get out of his grip.

"No! Let go of me!" Beth yelled. Castiel wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off of her feet slightly as he carried her towards the door. Beth caught sight of Lucifer before they made it outside and she saw the blonde archangel nod firmly at her—she knew immediately that he would come for her. He would make everything right again. Beth went limp in submission and allowed Castiel to fly her away from the mansion.

* * *

Beth went right back to struggling as her and Castiel landed in Bobby's living room. She backed away from the angel, a defensive air about her.

"I want to leave, _now,_" Beth hissed, not seeming to recognise him or her family as they filled the room.

"Beth, what's going on?" Sam asked in concern. He faltered when she sent a deadly glare at him.

"I need to go back," she said urgently. Her gaze flew around the room wildly, looking for an escape route. "I have to. I need Father."

"What the hell's wrong with her?" Dean questioned, looking at Castiel.

"Lucifer's influence over her is stronger than we anticipated," Ariel explained, crossing her arms over her chest as she took in Beth's ragged, bloody appearance. "He's got his hooks in deep with this one."

"What can we do?"

"Lock her up," Ariel replied seriously. "In angel proof restraints. It's the only way to stop her from using her powers to summon our fallen brother."

"Don't even try it," Beth growled, her eyes glowing a bright blue-white colour.

"Beth. _Snap out of it,_" Dean ordered sternly. Beth looked to him, her eyes still glowing slightly. "_We _are your _family. _Not them. _We _need you, not them."

Beth's face clouded over with confusion, though the distrust was still clear on her face. "No. You're wrong," she said, not sounding too convinced. "They're like me."

"No they're not, Beth," Sam joined in, catching onto what his brother was trying to do. "You may be from the same race but you're nothing like them. You are good and you help people. They don't."

"Beth." Castiel stepped up to her side, his hand instinctively seeking out hers. Her breath hitched at the familiar sensation of his warm skin against hers and she threaded her fingers through his. "Everything's going to be okay now. You're safe here."

"But I… I don't know what's happening to me," she said, looking only at Castiel. "I didn't recognise _you. _How could I not recognise you? W-we're all family but I don't want to be here. I want…"

"What do you want?" Cas asked softly.

"I have to go back to him. I want to go back to Lucifer."

* * *

On the outskirts of Singer's Salvage Yard, stood a tall blonde male and a slightly shorter male with black hair. They both watched the house intently, their angelic hearing meaning they could hear every word the occupants of the house were saying.

"Are you sure she's on our side?" Jonah asked, glancing at his older brother.

"Ariel was right, I have got my hooks deep in that one," Lucifer replied smugly. "It's only a matter of time before my control over her becomes too much and she has no choice but to come to me and when she does, only then will the Nephilim be truly loyal to me and the rest will come out of hiding when they hear of their new Queen."


	20. I Believe The Children Are Our Future

_**23**__**rd**__** September, 2009**_

_**(Passing through Colorado)**_

Beth sat in the back of the Impala with Castiel beside her as Dean drove the four of them in the direction of their next case. Sam was sitting in the front passenger seat on his phone, looking through his e-mails. The Winchester female was completely silent, staring out the window as the scenery went rushing by. Her brothers were currently paying little attention to her, Dean more so than Sam. She put it down to her confession the other night.

Castiel glanced at Beth out of the corner of his eye as he slowly reached out and slipped his hand under hers. Beth paused in surprise before gripping his hand back tightly, her fingers linked through his.

"Thank you," she whispered at him so her brothers wouldn't hear. Castiel nodded once, a small smile tugging at his lips. Beth hesitated, and then moved over so she was right beside him and carefully rested her head on his shoulder.

Sam glanced back at the two of them, smiling slightly at the peaceful look on Beth's face—it was the first time he'd seen that look on her face since she'd been back with them, and though he was surprised it was Cas that had put that look on his sister's face, he was also relieved—maybe Cas could be the one to help her break the hold Lucifer had on her mind.

"Hey, Beth," Sam said, gaining his sister's attention—she raised her head immediately, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of an on-coming car. "Here's some water, thought you could use it."

"Thank you, Sam," Beth replied quietly, gratefully. Sam dipped his head at her in acknowledgement and turned away to give the two of them some privacy. Beth's head went back to its previous position on Castiel's shoulder and the full angel didn't seem bothered by it one bit.

* * *

**Alliance, Nebraska**

**(A day later)**

Beth was only too relieved when they finally arrived in Alliance and she was out of the car before Sam and Dean could even open their mouths to speak. Castiel quickly got out as well and went to stand beside Beth.

"Will you be okay?" he asked her hesitantly.

Beth tilted her head up to look at him and nodded once. "I'll be fine," she murmured, her eyes dull and void of emotion. Castiel set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently before he flew away from the deserted parking lot.

"Beth, c'mon!" Dean shouted from the entrance to the building. Beth sighed reluctantly before heading after her brothers. "Get a move on," Dean grumbled, pushing her ahead of them. She stumbled and collided with the wall.

Beth frowned at him, wondering what the hell had gotten into him—he'd never been that rude towards her before. He'd never _shoved _her before. Sam seemed to be thinking the same thing and he reached out, pulling Beth to his side for safety.

"Dean, take it easy," Sam said, eyeing his brother in concern.

"No. I will not take it easy," Dean growled in response. "I don't know what the hell she's thinking, wanting to go back to the devil—you know, the one who had her kidnapped in the first place and has some sort of weird mind control on her."

"Would you cut it out?" Sam ordered, sending a firm look at Beth when she opened her mouth to argue. "We are here to work a case not to fight between ourselves. _Beth, _don't even think about it. I'm not going to enter into a fight with you and I'm not going to take sides in this petty feud you two have going on."

"Whatever," Beth said. She shook her head once as she backed away from her brothers. "I'm so done with his crap. I'll see you at the motel room later."

"Beth… _Beth!_" Sam shouted as he watched her head for the exit. "Bethany!"

Beth ignored him and kept walking. The door slammed shut behind her and Sam and Dean followed her with their eyes as she walked past the window and disappeared from sight.

"Great, that's just great," Sam sighed, irritated at being caught, once again, between Beth and Dean's fight. "Good going, man."

"What?" Dean asked defensively. Sam rolled his eyes and brushed past his brother. "She's the one storming off like a little girl."

* * *

Beth sat at a picnic bench in the middle of the park, staring down at the photograph in her hands. It was the picture of her and Kat from the future that she'd made a copy of and had it printed out.

She'd taken to looking at the photograph a lot more lately, ever since she'd gotten back from Lucifer's mansion. It calmed her down to look at her _child's _smiling face. She still couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that her and Cas had made such a perfect being.

She knew she couldn't tell Sam and Dean about any of it. She didn't want to give Dean another reason to hate her, which she knew would happen if she spilled her guts.

"Hello, Beth," an all-too-familiar voice greeted and Beth's head jerked up, her eyes widening in shock as she came face to face with Lucifer.

"Lucifer!" Beth lurched to her feet, the photo of Kat long forgotten as it drifted to the table. She darted around the bench and hugged him tightly. "I knew you would show up eventually."

"I promised I would," Lucifer replied, one arm around her shoulders and his free hand cradling the back of her head. "I always keep my promises."

"Have you come to take me back?" Beth asked hopefully, staring up at him with bright eyes.

"Not just yet, I need you to remain with your brothers until the time is right," he told her softly as he took her hand and led her back over to the picnic bench. They sat down and Beth immediately returned her gaze to his face, awaiting more information from him. "I need you to do something else for me as well."

"What is it?"

"There's a young boy, here in town, his name's Jesse Turner. I need you to take care of him," Lucifer explained. "He is special, like you. I need you to stick with him until I am able to collect him."

"He's a nephil too?" Beth asked curiously. Lucifer shook his head, shooting down her query.

"No, he's not a Nephil. He is the Anti-Christ."

Beth started, the curiosity in her eyes giving way to terror, and she leaned backwards away from him. "T-the _Anti-Christ_?" she demanded. "Your _son, _the Anti-Christ?"

"He's not my son. Your books got that wrong too. The Anti-Christ isn't just _one _child, it is _many. _Where Nephilim are the children of humans and angels, the Anti-Christs are the children of _demons _and humans."

"How powerful is he?"

"He is more powerful than most creatures that walk this earth," Lucifer said. "He can bring the Heavens crumbling down with a single word. You will be just as powerful the more you use your gifts. All you have to do is let it in. Be who you were destined to be."

"…How do I do that?" she asked quietly. Lucifer smiled fondly and reached out, cupping her cheek.

"You do what you were learning to do back at the mansion," he replied calmly. "You practice and you train yourself. You can do anything if you _try._" He looked around his surroundings for a moment before his gaze locked on the photo of Kat. "Make that photograph float."

Beth followed his stare and frowned, her brows drawing together. "How?"

"Close your eyes," Lucifer instructed and Beth quickly did as she was told. "Now, I want you to completely focus on the photograph. Think about every little detail—the size, the weight of it, the colours. Now imagine it slowly lifting off of the table, almost as if a small breeze was carrying it into the air." His blue eyes flickered to the side as movement caught his attention and a smirk settled on his lips as Beth's photo slowly, and shakily, rose up off the surface of the table. "Open your eyes."

Beth's eyelids flickered open. A gasp of shock and glee escaped when she realized she'd done it. She'd made it float, just by following Lucifer's instructions. The photo suddenly dropped at one side and Beth quickly righted it just by thinking about it.

"I-I did it!" she exclaimed happily, her eyes flickering between the floating object and Lucifer.

"I'm proud of you, Bethany."

Beth grinned widely at him before reaching out and plucking the photo out of mid-air. Lucifer returned it with a small one of his own.

"I must go now," he said and stood up, brushing his hands over his shirt to get rid of the creases. "Remember what I told you. Don't let Jesse out of your sight."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Beth swore, standing up as well. "Does anyone else know about him?"

"Castiel is close to figuring it out. He'll try and kill Jesse—you can't let that happen," he replied. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and passed it over to Beth. She took it hesitantly, opening it to reveal an address written in neat, cursive handwriting. "I'll come back for Jesse soon."

"Okay," she replied and stuck the address in her bag. "I meant what I said before, I won't let Jesse out of my sight until you return."

"I know you won't." Lucifer pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before flying away from the park.

Beth let a smug smile cross her lips as she packed the photo and address into her journal before she shouldered the bag and made the short trek towards the park's exit.

* * *

"Hey Beth," Sam greeted warmly, smiling at his sister from where he sat at the kitchen table, researching stuff on his laptop. "How's it going?"

Beth faltered, eyes flickering between Sam and Dean warily. "I'm fine. How're you?" she returned politely.

"Good," Sam replied. "I'm good."

"Enough with the niceties," Dean interrupted. He lifted his head a fixed Beth with a tight smile. "Drop the bag and join me over here."

Beth slowly did as she was told, dropping her bag on the couch and shuffling over to where Dean was standing with an oven tray with a large ham in it in front of him. She peered at it curiously before turning and raising an eyebrow at Dean.

"It's a long story," Dean said, shrugging carelessly. He pulled on a pair of safety goggles and a set of long, black leather gloves. Beth's confusion only grew when her eldest brother put an electric buzzer on his finger and looked to Sam for confirmation. "You ready?"

"Hit it, Mr Wizard," Sam replied as he stepped backwards, reaching out and tugging Beth back with him. He handed a spare pair of safety goggles to her and they both tugged them on as Dean moved his hand down and pressed the buzzer to the ham.

Beth's eyes widened and her lips parted in amazement as the large hunk of meat smoked and sizzled until it was completely cooked. She moved the goggles away from her face and met Dean's shocked eyes. "What the hell was that?" she gasped.

"That crap isn't supposed to work," Sam pointed out, just as confused as his siblings.

"This thing doesn't even have batteries," Dean said, which only added to the pile of how strange the whole situation was.

"So what, are we looking at cursed objects?"

"Maybe there's a powerful witch in town," Dean suggested as he pulled out his pocket knife and flicked it open before cutting into the ham and sticking it in his mouth. "Is there any link between the joy buzzer and the itching powder?"

"They were made in two different places but both were bought from the same store," Sam explained, watching Dean stuff his face with more meat.

Beth rolled her eyes as Dean offered a bit to Sam only to eat it seconds later when Sam refused it. She reached out when her brothers weren't looking and picked up the buzzer, eyeing it curiously as she pushed down on the button with her thumb. Nothing happened.

"Beth!" Sam shouted suddenly and slapped her hand, causing the buzzer to clatter to the table. Beth clutched her stinging hand, rubbing the sore spot gingerly.

"What the hell was that for?" she demanded.

"That thing was enough to cook a raw ham. It could've killed you," Sam scolded and Dean nodded in agreement. Beth raised an eyebrow at them before she decided to annoy them by slowly reaching out and touching the buzzer, pressing the button again. Nothing happened for a second time and she picked it up instead.

"It's not affecting me in the slightest," she pointed out obviously. Her brothers frowned in unison before Dean told her to put the buzzer in her pocket and not let it touch anyone else until they figured it all out.

Five minutes after that, the three siblings were in the Impala, driving away from the motel in the direction of the joke shop that the buzzer and itching powder was from.

* * *

"This place looks weird," Beth pointed out dryly as they headed for the magic shop. Dean opened the door and gestured for her to go in ahead of him.

Beth's eyes were immediately drawn to the fake wands and magicians' hats on the left side of the store as Dean headed right and Sam stayed where he was, looking towards the counter.

"Psst, Sam. Beth," Dean whispered loudly. They two brown haired siblings turned to find Dean holding up a whoopee cushion for them to see. Sam merely rolled his eyes, giving Dean his signature bitch face before he turned away and walked over to the counter. Beth noticed Dean's face fall slightly and she reached out, slapping his arm to get his attention, when she had it, she smiled widely—surprisingly gaining one back from him—and handed some crumpled up bills to him.

"We can use it on him later," she told her eldest brother in a conspiratorial whisper. Dean smirked in amusement and took the money from Beth, following quickly after Sam.

"Welcome to the Conjurarium, sanctum of magic and mystery," an older man declared, appearing from behind a curtain in front of them.

"You the owner?" Sam queried politely.

"Yep."

"You sold any itching powder or joy buzzers lately?" Dean asked.

The store owner snorted. "Yeah. A grand total, one of each. They aren't exactly big-ticket items." He glanced between the siblings curiously. "You boys—and girl—here to buy something or what?"

"So, do you get many customers?" Sam asked as Dean handed Beth's money over to pay for the whoopee cushion.

"Kids come in," the man said with a shrug. "They don't buy stuff, but they're more than happy to break stuff. These days, all they care about are I-Phones, and those stupid kissing-vampire movies. The whole thing makes me just…"

"Angry?" Dean offered.

"Can't blame you there. Twilight sucks," Beth mumbled, letting out a loud 'ow' as Sam elbowed her roughly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am angry," the store owner admitted. "This shop has been my life for 20 years, and now it's wasting away to nothing."

"Which is why you hate them."

"I suppose," the older man concurred hesitantly.

"You wish there was something you could do?" Dean continued, conveying with his eyes that Beth should get the joy buzzer out, and she did, holding it tightly in her left hand.

"Yeah. I guess I do."

"So you're taking revenge," Dean said lowly as he plucked a rubber chicken from the hook next to him. "With this." He gestured at Beth and she immediately held it against the chicken, pressing the button and watching as small bolts of electricity shot from the device to her hand and the rubber toy. The toy was reduced to a puddle of melted rubber and a small cloud of smoke in seconds. The store owner had thrown himself backwards into his chair in shock after letting out a panicked cry.

"Yeah. Something tells me this guy is not a powerful witch," Sam stated obviously. Beth and Dean shared a glance and nodded in agreement.

"Uh, sorry," Dean apologized pathetically as they all took a step backwards. And then they turned tail and legged it out of the store.

"So… what the hell do we do now?" Beth asked, glancing up at them as they stopped next to the Impala.

"…I've got nothing," Dean replied after a few seconds.

Sam nodded his agreement. "Me neither."

The three of them quickly got in the car and drove as fast as they could away from the Conjurarium and back in the direction of their motel room.

* * *

**September 25****th****, 2009 **

**Alliance, Nebraska**

Beth glanced up from her book as the door opened and Sam walked in, clutching something in his hand. Dean was at the kitchen table, still eating away at the ham.

"Dude, seriously? Still with the ham?"

"What's he supposed to do with it?" Beth called out. "We don't have a fridge."

"Yeah, what she said," Dean said around a mouthful of food. Sam rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Well, I found something. Here," Sam began as he set the map down on the table. Beth slipped her bookmark back into the book and got off the bed, walking over to see what her brother was talking about. "Tooth fairy attack was here, Pop rocks and coke was here… and then you've got itching power, face freeze and joy buzzer, all located within a two mile radius." Beth looked more closely and came to the quick realization that there was a single house bang, smack in the middle of all the other houses.

"So, we got a blast zone of weird, and inside, fantasy becomes reality," Dean surmised.

"Looks like," Sam shrugged.

"And what's the A-bomb in the centre?"

"Four acres of farmland and a house."

"Our motel isn't in that circle by any chance?" Dean asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, it is," Sam confirmed. "Why?"

"Oh please, do tell him, Dean," Beth encouraged from where she now sat on the opposite side of the table. She'd seen his hand earlier but she had been waiting until Sam got back before she said anything.

"Tell me what?" Sam asked, brows drawn together in confusion. Dean reluctantly held his hand up to reveal a hairy palm. A look of disgust crossed Sam's face. "Oh dude. That's not what I think it is, is it?"

Beth giggled in amusement, raising a hand to cover her mouth as Sam took a step away from Dean and Dean just looked mildly ashamed.

"I got bored," Dean explained, trying—and failing—to keep a straight face. "That nurse was hot."

"You know you can go blind from that too," Sam pointed out.

"Give me five minutes, then we'll go check out that house." Dean walked around Sam, heading in the direction of the bathroom.

"Hey. Do not use my razor," Sam ordered firmly. A wide smirk crossed Dean's face at Sam's words but he didn't say anything else as he reached the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

"You'll need to get a new razor," Beth told him in amusement as she grabbed her FBI uniform and ordered Sam to turn around so she could change.

* * *

An hour later, the Impala came to stop across from an old, two-storey house and Beth was once again the first person out of the car.

"Hurry up you two," she said, knocking on Dean's window. She barely managed to step back in time before Dean swung his door open, aiming to hit her with it. "You're an ass."

"Enough," Sam barked. Beth and Dean turned to him in surprise. "Any more fighting from either one of you and I'll lock you in the panic room the next time we're at Bobby's."

"_Yessir,"_ Beth grumbled under her breath but backed down nonetheless, as did Dean.

The trio headed across the road, up the path and onto the front porch. Beth made sure she still had the knife Dean had given her as Sam reached out, preparing to use his lock-pick kit to unlock the door.

They were all taken off guard as the door suddenly opened to reveal a small, dark haired kid of about 11. He stared up at them suspiciously. Beth knew immediately who the child was, and she almost took a step back in alarm as she could suddenly see what was lurking beneath the surface of his skin. His soul was a murky grey colour, surrounded by black smoke that seemed intent on consuming his human side.

When Beth looked down and met Jesse's gaze, her eyes flickered between glowing white-blue and her usual hazel colour. The kid looked mildly freaked out at that but forced himself to turn and look up at the man with the longer hair.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, um. What's your name?" Sam asked politely.

"Who wants to know?" Jesse countered.

"The, uh, the FBI," Dean replied and the three of them quickly pulled their badges out.

"Lemme see that." Jesse reached out and plucked the badge from Dean's hand. "So, what, you guys don't knock?"

"Is your mom and dad home?" Beth asked, sending a gentle smile Jesse's way.

"They're at work."

"Well, do you mind if we ask you some questions?" Sam queried. "Maybe take a look around the house?"

"I don't know," Jesse replied, a tad nervous. Beth tucked her badge into her pocket before she crouched down so she was eye-level with the child.

"You can trust us. We're the good guys," Beth promised. "We're here to help."

Her two brothers nodded in agreement with Beth's words and Jesse hesitated before he stepped back, opening the door for them to come inside. The trio followed Jesse through the house to the kitchen where a pot of soup was slowly cooking on the stove.

"What's that?" Sam asked curiously.

"It's called _soup,_" Jesse sassed, gaining an amused chuckle from Beth. "You heat it up and you eat it."

"Right. I know…" Sam said, quickly getting over his surprise. "It's just, uh… I used to make my own dinner too when I was a kid."

"Same here," Beth added, drawing their attention. "My twin couldn't cook to save his life so I had to do it."

"Well, I'm not a kid," Jesse told them.

"I know you're not," Sam assured him softly. He held a hand out. "I'm Robert, by the way."

"Jesse." The young boy reached out and shook Sam's hand.

"I'm Beth," Beth introduced herself as Jesse turned to look at her. He shook her hand too.

"It's nice to meet you, Jesse," Sam continued after sending Beth a sharp look.

Dean walked back over to the group with a drawing clutched in his hand. "Did you draw this?"

"It's the tooth fairy," Jesse explained.

"That's what you think the tooth fairy looks like?"

"…Yeah, my dad told me about him," Jesse replied hesitantly.

"Huh," Dean said, nodding his head thoughtfully as he glanced down at the picture.

"What, didn't your dad tell you about the tooth fairy?" Jesse asked curiously.

"My dad?" Dean repeated. "No. My dad told me different stories."

"The tooth fairy isn't a story," Jesse corrected seriously. Beth shared a look with Sam and Dean and could tell they were both thinking along the same lines as her—this kid was quickly becoming their prime suspect in the incidents that had been happening in town so far.

"What do you know about itching powder, Jesse?"

"That stuff will make you scratch your brains out."

"Pop rocks and coke?"

"You mix them and you'll end up in the hospital. Everyone knows that," Jesse replied.

Beth pulled the joy buzzer from her pocket at Dean's silent command and handed it over without a fuss. Jesse's face immediately clouded over in concern.

"You shouldn't have that."

"Why not?" Dean questioned.

"It can electrocute you," Jesse said urgently.

"Actually, it can't," Dean explained. "It's just a wind up toy. It's completely harmless. It doesn't even have batteries."

"So it can't shock you?" Jesse sounded like he didn't believe Dean at all.

"Nope. Not at all," Dean said reassuringly.

"Oh, okay…"

"All it does is just shake in your hand. It's kinda lame," Dean admitted. "See?" He pressed the buzzer against Sam's chest and pushed his thumb down on the button. Sam let out a panicked grunt, but the buzzer only buzzed slightly and didn't electrocute him like he and Beth thought it would. Jesse smile in amusement. Sam sent another bitch-face in Dean's direction. "What did you say your name was again?" Dean asked, ignoring his siblings.

* * *

"Dude. What the hell?" Sam demanded as they left the Turner residence and walked down the porch.

"I had a hunch and I went with it," Dean admitted with a shrug.

"Seriously? You risked Sammy's life on a hunch?" Beth asked, sharing Sam's irritation. Dean shrugged again.

"Sam's _fine,_" Dean replied. "Besides, now we know who's turning this town into Willy Wonka's nightmare."

"The kid," Sam answered.

"Everything Jesse believes is coming true. He thinks the tooth fairy looks like Belushi, joy buzzers really shock people—_boom, _that's what happens."

Sam nodded, seeing where Dean was going. "But if you convince him that joy buzzers don't work, they go back to being crappy old toys."

"He probably doesn't even know he's doing it."

Dean and Sam glanced back towards the house and Beth followed their gazes to find Jesse standing in an upstairs window looking down on them. Dean raised his hand and waved.

"How is he doing it?" Dean asked himself as they walked over to the Impala. Beth remained silent, knowing that she couldn't tell them what Jesse was. They would just have to figure it out themselves.

* * *

_**Elk Creek, Nebraska**_

A few hours later, Sam, Dean and Beth found themselves on the other side of the state at Jesse's biological mom's house. Beth followed her brothers through a rusty old gate and around the back of the house to the door. Dean rang the doorbell, and almost immediately they got a response.

"Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested!" Jesse's mom Julia called out.

"We're not salesmen—or women—we're from the FBI," Dean replied. "Agents Page, Plant and Jackson." They three of them held their badges up to the peephole.

"Put your badges in the slot," Julia replied, still not unlocking the door.

The Winchesters did as they were told, slipping their badges through the door to Julia. There was a brief pause before the woman on the other side finally unlocked the door and opened it, passing their badges back.

"What do you want?"

"We just had a few questions about your son," Sam explained, sticking his badge away.

"I don't have a son," Julia denied, voice shaking.

"He was born March 29th, 1998 in Omaha. You put him up for adoption."

"What about him?" Julia asked finally.

"We were just wondering. Was it a—?" Sam cut off awkwardly.

"What he's trying to say is, was it a normal pregnancy?" Beth took over for him.

"Was there anything strange—?" Dean started to say, only to have Julia try to slam the door in their faces.

"Stay away from me!" the blonde woman cried hysterically. Beth moved in before the door could close fully and shoved it back open with her half-angel strength—it hit the wall with a thud, leaving a dent in the wall where the doorknob had made impact. Sam and Dean barely stopped to look at the damage before chasing after Julia.

"Julia, wait!" Dean called as they chased her through the house. "We just wanna talk!" Dean shoved the door to the pantry open and got a handful of salt thrown at him. Sam and Beth received the same treatment and they all looked up at an equally confused Julia.

"You're not demons," Julia exclaimed, mostly to herself.

"How do you know about demons?"

* * *

A little while later, the four of them sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea in front of them. Julia took a shaky sip from her cup before setting it down on the table.

"I was possessed," she started, getting lost in the memories she had tried so hard to keep buried inside. "A demon took control of my body and I hurt people. I killed people."

"That wasn't you," Sam told her quietly, speaking from experience.

"But I was there," Julia replied. "I heard a woman beg for mercy. I felt a young girl's blood drip down my hands."

"That's how you knew about the salt."

"Yeah. I picked up some tricks. It was in me for months," Julia explained as she looked down at the table. Beth frowned in pity, she couldn't even begin to imagine what that must've been like. She was lucky that Meg was only in her for about an hour or two at the most.

"How many months?" Dean asked.

"Nine."

"So your son…"

"Yeah. The whole time. The pregnancy, the birth. All of it," Julia said. "I was possessed. The night the baby was born, I was alone and the pain was overwhelming. I screamed and it came out as a laugh because the demon was happy. It used my body to give birth to a child. When it was over, something changed. Maybe the demon was tired, or if the pain helped me fight it but somehow, I took control. The demon wailed inside me, it pounded against my skull. I thought my head was going to explode but I knew. I knew what I had to do. I found bags of salt nearby and I just swallowed mouthfuls of the stuff and it got the demon out of me. When I was alone with the baby, part of me wanted to kill it. But God help me, I couldn't do that… not to a child. So, I put it up for adoption and I ran."

"Who was the father?" Dean asked curiously.

"I was a virgin," Julia murmured. "Have… have you seen my son? Is he human?"

"His name's Jesse," Beth explained gently. "He lives in Alliance. He's a good kid."

"Thank you."

Beth smiled in understanding and stood up just after her brothers. They trio bid Julia goodbye and left the house, heading down the porch and back around the house to where the Impala was parked.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time Beth and her brothers made it back to their motel room in Alliance. She walked ahead of Sam and unlocked their door, stopping briefly to turn the light on.

"Cas!" she exclaimed happily, dumping the key on the table and heading over to hug the angel. He hugged her back for a second before releasing her and turning to Sam and Dean.

"I take it you got our message?" Sam asked as he sat down at the table.

"It's lucky you found the boy," Castiel said, cutting to the chase.

"Yeah, real lucky. What do we do with him?" Dean questioned.

"Kill him."

Beth started at that, looking up at Castiel in disbelief. Her brothers had similar looks on their faces.

"Cas—" Dean started.

"This child is half-demon and half-human," Castiel interrupted. "But it's _far _more powerful than either. Other cultures call this hybrid Cambion or Katako. You know him as the Antichrist." Cas sat down in the chair across from Sam and farting noises filled the air, gaining a confused look from Sam and an amused one from both Beth and Dean. "That wasn't me," Castiel stated as he pulled Dean's whoopee cushion out from under him.

"Who put that there?" Dean asked rhetorically, trying to hide a smile.

"Back to more important stuff. I don't get it, Jesse is the devil's son?" Sam asked.

"No. Of course not," Castiel sighed. "Your bible gets more wrong than it does right. The Antichrist is not Lucifer's child. It's just demon spawn. But it is one of the devil's greatest weapons in the war against Heaven… so are the Nephilim." The three males looked over at Beth at Cas' statement and she shifted nervously, almost wishing that the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

"If Jesse's a demonic howitzer, what's he doing in Nebraska?"

"The demons lost him. They can't find him but they're looking," Cas explained.

"And they lost him because…?"

"Because of the child's power," the angel replied. "It hides him from both angels and demons for now."

"So he's got, like, a force field around him. Well, that's great. Problem solved."

"With Lucifer risen, this child grows stronger," Castiel started, turning in his chair to look up at Dean. "Soon, he will do more than just make a few toys come to life. Something that will draw the demons to him. The demons will find this child. Lucifer will twist this boy to his purpose, and then, with a _word, _this child will destroy the host of Heaven."

"Wait, you're saying that Jesse's gonna nuke the angels?"

"We cannot allow that to happen."

"Wait," Sam said, looking between Dean and Cas in disbelief. "We're the good guys. We don't just kill children."

"A year ago, you would've done whatever it took to win this war," Castiel began as he stood up, facing off against Sam.

"Things change," Sam snapped.

"Okay. Hey, look. We are _not _going to kill him. All right?" Dean stepped in. "But we can't leave Jesse here either. We know that. So, we take him to Bobby's, he'll know what to do."

"You'll kidnap him?" Castiel questioned. "What is going on in this town, it's what happens when this thing is happy. You cannot imagine what it will do if it's angry. Besides, how will you hold him? With a thought, he could be halfway around the world."

"So we…"

"So we tell him the truth," Sam interrupted. "You say Jesse's destined to go dark side, fine, but he hasn't yet. So if we lay it all out for him, what he is... the apocalypse, everything. He might make the right choice."

Castiel leaned towards Sam, anger flickering across his face. "_You _didn't. And _I _can't take that chance." With that, the angel disappeared in a flutter of wings.

"Uh, Sam… where's Beth?" Dean asked, only just realizing his sister was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Beth snuck up the porch to the Turner residence and made quick work of picking the lock and hurrying inside, closing the door behind her quietly.

"Beth?" a quiet voice behind her said. Beth turned to find Jesse standing at the bottom of the stairs. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't have time to explain, I just need you to trust me, okay?" she replied, walking over and crouching in front of him. "You're in danger, I'm here to help you."

"Danger? What are you talking about?" Jesse asked. He walked past her to the kitchen to get some water from the cooler by the fridge. Beth followed him, glancing over her shoulder warily as if she expected Cas to be standing there.

"Someone wants to kill you and I can't let that happen," she said bluntly. Jesse looked up at her in surprise. A heavy weight settled in Beth's stomach and she knew immediately that Cas was there. "Jesse, stay behind me."

Jesse, sensing something was wrong, set his glass down on the counter and grabbed Beth's arm, following her to the living room.

"Beth, what are you doing here?" Castiel questioned lowly, walking slowly into the room. Jesse clutched her arm tighter as Beth backed them both up into a corner, keeping her body between the child and the angel.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt him," Beth said. "He's just a _kid. _You can't kill him."

"Lucifer set this task for you, to keep the child safe," Cas said after reading her thoughts. "To protect him until he could come and collect him."

Beth shrugged her shoulders. "Even if he hadn't, I still wouldn't let you hurt Jesse. If you want to harm him, you'll have to go through _me._"

"I don't want to hurt you, Beth."

"Why not? You're perfectly okay with hurting Jesse and he's just like me," Beth argued. "We've both got something inside us that we can't control. The _only _difference is that he's not part-angel like me."

"He's not like you, Beth," Castiel told her, trying to make the nephil see things from his point of view. "With a single thought, he could destroy all the angels and all of Heaven."

"Just like me," Beth countered, knowing it to be true. "Lucifer told me that I was powerful enough to do _anything. _I could do the same as Jesse, if I really wanted to."

"I won't let you stand between me and what needs to be done," Castiel said, right before he grabbed Beth and threw her from the room. She collided roughly with the kitchen table and knocked the chairs over as she hit the floor. A panicked cry from the living room had her scrambling to her feet in fear and racing back to the living room. Jesse was standing where she'd left him, his back pressed against the wall, staring down at a small figurine that resembled Castiel perfectly.

"Jesse, are you okay?" Beth asked, kneeling in front of the child. Jesse shook his head and launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her neck tightly. Beth returned the hug, rubbing Jesse's back in comfort. The front door flew open a second later and her brothers darted into the house.

"Beth? Are you both okay?" Sam questioned, looking for any injuries on the two half-humans.

"We're fine," she replied, standing up after Jesse released her. The dark haired kid stood beside her, staring up at her brothers warily. "Castiel, not so much."

"What do you mean?" Dean said in confusion. Beth bent down to pick up the Cas doll before handing it over to Dean.

"What the…?"

"It's a long story," Beth sighed.

* * *

Jesse and Beth sat on the couch whilst Sam sat in the chair in the corner. Dean walked past them and set the Cas doll on the mantel about the fire place.

"Was he your friend?" Jesse asked, his brows drawn together.

"Him? No…" Dean said quickly.

"I did that," Jesse stated, glancing at Beth. She nodded once, a knowing look on her face. "How did I do that?"

"You're a superhero," Dean replied, shrugging his shoulders. "So is Beth, actually." Dean paid no attention to the annoyed glare Beth sent his way.

"Really?" Jesse asked, an eager glint in his eyes.

"Yeah. Who else could turn someone into a toy? You're Superman, minus the cape and the go-go boots." Dean smiled down at the kid. "See, my partners and I, we work for a secret government agency. It's our job to find kids with special powers. In fact, we're here to take you to a hidden base in South Dakota, where you and Beth will be trained to fight evil."

"Like the X-Men?" Jesse asked curiously.

"Exactly like the X-men," Dean assured him. "In fact, the guy we're taking you to, he's even in a wheelchair. You'll be a hero. You'll save lives, you'll get the girl. Sounds like fun, right?"

Beth and Sam were immediately on their feet as Dean was suddenly sent flying backwards into the wall.

"They're lying to you," Julia said as she strolled through the open doorway. Sam was next to go flying against the wall. Beth grabbed Jesse and pulled him back away from the demon. "Stay right there, dreamboat. Can't hurt you or Beth. Orders," the blonde said to Sam before she turned to look at Dean. "You on the other hand? Hurting you is encouraged." With a wave of her hand, the demon sent Dean flying face-first into the opposite wall and then back to the one he'd just been pinned to.

"Leave him alone!" Jesse shouted. Beth held Jesse against her, once again keeping her body between him and the one she perceived as a threat to Jesse.

"Jesse, you're beautiful," the demon said, stepping closer.

"Take one more step and you'll be in for a world of pain," Beth warned, her eyes glowing blue-white in response to Julia's eyes turning pitch black.

"You think you can stop me?"

"Oh, I _know _I can," Beth promised. "You're not getting your evil hands anywhere near him."

"I can't imagine Father will be pleased with your sudden lapse in loyalty," Julia said mockingly.

"Screw you." Beth could feel the familiar build-up of energy in her stomach, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.

"Beth? Who is she?" Jesse asked from beside her. The Heavenly fire in Beth's eyes died down to reveal her natural eye colour as she glanced at him.

"I'm your mother," Julia input, bracing her hands on her knees as she lowered herself to Jesse's level.

"No you're not," Jesse denied.

"You're half-human, half one of us," Julia explained.

"She means demons, Jesse," Dean said. Julia's eyes turned black again and she clenched her fist, twisting her hand to the side and Sam and Dean's heads twisted too, their throats closing up as they gasped for breath.

"Those people you call your parents, they lied to you too," Julia said, turning back to Jesse. "You're not theirs. Not really."

"My mom and dad love me," Jesse said, sounding like he was desperately trying to convince himself.

"Do they?" Julia asked, a hint of pity in her voice. "Is that why they leave you alone all day? Because they love you so much? These people, these _imposters, _they told you the tooth fairy was real and your toys could hurt you and a hundred other things that aren't true. They love you so much, they made your whole life a lie. Look into your heart, Jesse. You've always known you weren't theirs. You've always known you were different. Everyone has lied to you. They're not FBI agents." Julia and Jesse turned to look at the Winchester brothers. Jesse looked away from Sam and Dean and up at Beth.

"I'm sorry," Beth murmured.

"And you're not a superhero," Julia continued.

"Then what am I?"

"You're powerful. You can have anything you want, you can _do _anything you want," Julia explained.

"Don't listen to her Jesse!" Dean exclaimed. Julia turned on Dean and twisted her fist again, cutting off his oxygen supply. Beth immediately went to attack, only to have Julia throw her right arm out and shove her hand into Beth's chest, locking her fingers around Beth's heart.

"Beth!" Sam cried out, his eyes wide in horror as Beth choked up a mouthful of blood, her face paling rapidly as she struggled to remain still so Julia wouldn't yank her heart out.

"They treated you like a child. Nobody trusted you, everybody's lied to you," Julia said to Jesse as she lowered her left arm but kept her right hand locked around Beth's heart. "Doesn't that make you angry?"

Jesse clenched his fist angrily and the lights began flickering. Flames roared up in the once empty fireplace and the house began to shake.

"See? It _does _make you angry," Julia said, amused. Jesse glared up at her. "But I'm telling you the truth, Jesse. Wouldn't it be better if there were no lies? Come with me, and you can wash it all clean. Start over. Imagine, a world without lies." The house began to shake even more and a massive crack appeared in the wall between Sam and Dean.

"J-Jesse, don't li-listen to her," Beth wheezed out, gaining Jesse's attention. "Your parents _do _love you. They take care of you. They love you for who you _are _not what you can _do. _That monster in front of you only wants you for your powers."

Julia tightened her fist and Beth cried out, her legs buckling and her knees hit the ground with a loud thud. She arched her back in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure.

"She's right," Sam spoke up. "We lied to you. But I'll tell you the truth." A groan of pain escaped as Sam's throat closed up once again. "I just—I just want to tell—" Sam gasped out, struggling to breathe.

"Stop it," Jesse said, turning on Julia. "I wanna hear what he has to say."

"You're stronger than I thought," Julia said thoughtfully, glancing down at her son.

"We lied to you, and I'm sorry," Sam started, glancing at Jesse. "So here's the truth. I'm Sam Winchester. That's my brother, Dean and my half-sister Beth. We hunt monsters."

"Except when you are the monster, right, Sammy?"

"Don't talk to him like that," Beth forced out through gritted teeth. Julia quickly silenced her with a glare before she could say any more.

"And that woman right there, her name is Julia," Sam continued, ignoring Julia. "She's your mother. But the thing inside of her, the thing that you're talking to… it's a demon."

"A demon?" Jesse repeated.

"He's done nothing but lie to you. Don't listen to him, _punish _him."

"Sit down and shut up," Jesse ordered, turning to Julia. The demon flew backwards, her hand releasing Beth's heart and she landed on the nearby chair, unable to move or talk. Beth remained on her knees, breathing heavily as the wound on her chest slowly closed up.

"There's kind of a war between angels and demons," Sam said, glancing at Jesse nervously. "And you're a part of it… Beth too."

"I'm just a kid," Jesse argued.

"You can go with her, if you want," Sam told him gently. "I can't stop you. No one can. But if you do, millions of people are gonna die."

"She said I was half-demon. Is that true?"

"It is, Jesse," Beth said as she slowly got to her feet. "But you're half-human too. You don't have to be like her. Just like I don't have to be like some of the angels we've met. You can choose who you want to be."

"You can do the right thing. You've got choices, Jesse," Sam took over from Beth. "If you make the wrong ones, they'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jesse asked, distraught. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared up at Sam.

"Because I have to believe someone can make the right choice, even if I couldn't," Sam replied.

Jesse turned to the demon and said, "Get out of her," in a firm voice. The chair she was in shot backwards and hit the wall as the black demon smoke flew out of Julia's mouth, disappearing into the fire place and up the chimney. The moment the demon was completely gone, the hold of Dean broke and he hit the ground with a thud, his feet and ankles aching at the impact.

"How did you do that?" Dean asked, shocked.

"I just did," Jesse shrugged.

"Kid, you're awesome," Dean said, slightly breathless. He reached out and clutched Beth's shoulder, making sure she was okay.

"Dean, I'm fine," Beth mumbled, shaking him off. "It's healed."

* * *

"Is she gonna be okay?" Jesse asked, turning away from an unconscious Julia.

"Eventually," Dean replied as he met Jesse's gaze. He leaned down and picked up the Cas doll that had fallen from the fire place. "Look, uh, truth is, he's kind of a buddy of ours. Any way you could turn him back?"

"He tried to kill me," Jesse pointed out in disbelief.

"…Right. Look, he's a good guy, really. He was just confused," Dean explained.

Beth sighed from where she stood beside the couch and waved her hand at the figurine. It shot out of Dean's hand and seconds later, a live version of Cas was standing next to Dean.

"How did you do that?" Dean asked, looking to Beth.

"I took a leaf from Jesse's book," she replied quietly and glanced down at the aforementioned kid. "I wanted to do it, so I did."

Castiel looked between Dean and the two hybrids through narrowed eyes. Before he could say anything, Beth held a hand up and fixed him with a firm glare.

"Don't even think about hurting Jesse," she told him sternly. "He's under my protection."

Castiel looked reluctant to listen to her but he eventually backed down as Dean slapped his arm with the back of his hand. "I won't harm the boy."

Castiel's words seemed to reassure Beth and she relaxed, offering him a smile in return. Jesse, however, didn't look too convinced and moved closer to Beth.

"What do we do now?" Jesse asked.

"Now we take you someplace safe," Dean replied, sharing a glance with Sam. "Get you trained up. You'd be handy in a fight… both of you would." He glanced pointedly at Beth, who raised an eyebrow in response.

"What if I don't want to fight?"

"Jesse," Sam started, walking closer. "You're powerful. More powerful than pretty much anything we've ever seen. That makes you…"

"A freak?" Jesse interrupted. Beth frowned down at him, setting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing in a comforting manner.

"Maybe to some people," Sam agreed softly. "But not to us. See, we're kinda freaks ourselves."

"I can't stay here, can I?"

"No, Jesse, you can't," Beth told him sadly.

"The demons know where you are, more will be coming," Dean explained.

"I won't go without my mom and dad," Jesse said.

"There's nothing more important than family, we get that, and if you really wanna take them with you, we'll back your play. But you gotta understand, it's gonna be dangerous for them too."

"What do you mean?"

"Our dad, he would take me and Sam with him wherever he went," Dean began, gaining Beth and Jesse's attention.

"Where is he now?"

"Dead," Sam replied. "A demon killed him."

Beth's arm tightened around Jesse's shoulder at that statement. "You never told me that."

"We didn't want you to know what had happened to him," Dean told her carefully. "It wasn't… it just never came up."

"Look, Jesse, once you're in this fight, you're in it to the end," Sam said, getting the conversation back on track. "Win or lose."

"What should I do?" Jesse asked, turning to Beth.

"I can't make that decision for you. It's up to you," Beth replied, crouching beside him. "But if you come with us, I can promise you that you'll not be alone in all of this. I'm still learning about what I am and I can also promise that I'll be by your side every step of the way. We'll learn together, Jesse."

"Can I go see my parents?" Jesse questioned. Beth smiled and nodded at him. "I wanna say goodbye."

"Go ahead," she told him. "I'll pack some of your stuff, if you'd like?"

"Yes, please," Jesse replied quietly. He headed for the stairs and Beth followed him, sending a glance back at her brothers and Cas before they disappeared from sight.

* * *

About an hour later, Jesse's things were packed and in the trunk of the Impala along with Beth, Sam and Dean's duffel bags. Jesse was fast asleep in the back of the car, his head resting on Beth's lap with her jacket covering him. Sam and Dean were in the front of the car, talking quietly amongst themselves. Castiel had disappeared earlier while Beth had been helping Jesse pack his stuff.

Eventually, the loud rumble of the engine and the music playing softly in the background had Beth drifting off to sleep. Before she was fully asleep though, she caught the end of Sam and Dean's conversation.

"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" Sam asked quietly. "Do you think _both _of them are gonna be okay?"

"…I think they will be… eventually," Dean replied. "We just gotta help them through it."

"I hope you're right, Dean."


	21. Gone, Gone, Gone

**Author's Note - Hey guys, this is more of a filler chapter until I write the one for the next episode. Though, there is a little treat at the end for you all seeing as I took forever to update and post the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it though and let me know what you think! :D**

* * *

**September 29****th****, 2009**

**Windom, Minnesota**

Beth's phone rang once again, for the fifth time in the space of ten minutes. She ignored it _again. _She had left her brothers, Castiel and Jesse the night before and found herself in her hometown with a single thought. She'd been walking non-stop since she'd arrived in Windom.

She slipped her phone into her pocket and continued walking, a silver flask she'd stolen from Dean clutched tightly in her free hand. She took a long sip from the flask, wincing as the whisky burned a trail down her throat.

"Beth?" a strangely familiar voice called out. She turned to find Jesse standing a few feet away, looking around curiously.

"Hey, Jesse," she murmured, stopping to let him catch up before she resumed walking. "What brings you here?"

"Sam and Dean are worried about you," Jesse explained. "So is the angel guy. They asked me to find you, seeing as Castiel apparently can't."

"They're always worried about me," Beth snorted, taking another gulp of the whisky. "They need to just _stop. _I'm 19 years old now, I can take care of myself."

"That's why you're drinking at 3 in the afternoon?" Jesse sassed. Beth gave him an amused look, raising her eyebrow in response.

"Okay. I'll stop for now," Beth replied as she closed the lid and tucked the flask into her other pocket. "Where do you wanna go?"

"It's your birthday," Jesse said thoughtfully. "We should go bowling or something… and we need a cake."

"I have an idea. I could show you where I used to live," Beth offered. "We could order a pizza."

"Okay," Jesse smiled eagerly. "Shouldn't you call Dean back?"

"I'll call him later," Beth said. She turned on her heel and started walking in the opposite direction, Jesse quickly followed after her.

* * *

"This is where you used to live?" Jesse asked curiously, looking up at the two-storey house that had boards covering the windows and a for sale sign in the yard. The grass was up to Beth's knees and there were weeds growing all over the place.

"Yeah… it used to look a lot nicer, _obviously,_" Beth murmured. She headed up the path and onto the porch. She pressed her hand against the faded red door and shoved, it flew open with a series of creaks and Beth ducked inside, leaving Jesse to follow. The 11 year old closed the door behind him and walked slowly into the living room, feeling as though something bad had happened in the house.

"What happened here?"

"My mom and my twin and I were attacked by Ghouls," Beth explained quietly, dumping her bag on the dusty couch and heading over to the candles still sitting on the mantle piece. "They killed my mom and Adam—he's my twin. Sam and Dean managed to save me in time. But my mom and Adam are _gone, gone, gone _and I'm all alone."

"I'm sorry," Jesse said, watching her as she pulled a lighter from her bag and lit the candles, illuminating the room with a yellow-orange glow.

"Don't worry about," Beth replied, waving him off. She closed her lighter and sat down on the floor, gesturing for Jesse to do the same. "So, I brought my laptop with me, we could watch some movies, if you'd like?"

"What do you have?"

Beth smiled and reached over to open a cupboard on her left, she grabbed a handle on a box and pulled it out before passing it over to Jesse. "Adam and I used to watch those all the time," she explained as Jesse picked up a few of the Harry Potter films.

"Let's watch them then," Jesse said. Beth nodded and turned her laptop on, waiting until it was fully loaded before she stuck the disk in it and pressed play after the main menu appeared. The two of them settled back against the couch, their attention fully focused on the movie in front of them.

* * *

After watching the Harry Potter films that Beth had, the two of them managed to conjure up a pizza and some lemonade that they quickly devoured and drank. It was almost 9:00pm when Beth told Jesse that he should go back to Sam and Dean and that she wold join them soon enough.

As soon as Jesse was gone, Beth made her way upstairs to Adam's room. She stood in the doorway, briefly examining the room before she turned around and made her way to her own room. The walls were still the same light blue colour it had been when she'd last been there and the layout was the same. Her bed was pushed up against the wall by the window, her closet was on the left side of the room with a unit full of her make-up and beauty products next to it. A shoe rack was placed at the foot of her bed, up against the wall and she had a nightstand next to her bed with a lamp and a few books on it.

She sat down on the bed and opened her bag, pulling out a few bottles of alcohol she'd used her powers to get before setting all but one on the nightstand. Beth paused, staring down at the bottle in her hands, she quickly unscrewed the lid before raising it to her lips.

* * *

"Beth?"

Beth tipped her head to the side, staring through hazy eyes at Castiel's imposing form. A small giggle escaped as she raised her hand and waved at him.

"Cassie! My favourite angel!" Beth cheered. The young brunette clumsily pushed herself to her feet and stumbled over to him. Castiel reached out, catching her by her elbows as she tripped over her own feet. Beth grinned widely, clutching the lapels of his jacket tightly. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"You've been drinking," Castiel stated dryly. Beth snorted in amusement, like it was the funniest thing she'd heard and patted his chest.

"Damn straight. B-but it's my _birthday, _so I can drink all I like!" she said firmly, meeting his gaze. "What are you doin' here anyway? Are you gonna wish me a birthday happy?" Beth paused, frowning. "That doesn't sound right… or does it?" She shrugged pathetically. "Who cares? C'mon, join me for a drink."

She took hold of Cas' coat and dragged him over to the bed. Cas' knees hit the side of it roughly and he fell back onto it. Beth grabbed a bottle and tossed it to Cas, who just managed to catch it before it hit him in the face.

"What is this?"

"Vodka," she explained absentmindedly, flopping down beside him and drinking from her half-empty bottle of bourbon. "It's gooood."

Castiel hesitated before taking a small sip. His face screwed up at the strong taste but he forced himself to swallow the liquid. "This is disgusting."

"It won't be, the more you drink."

Castiel simply glanced at the bottle before setting it on the floor and turning back to Beth. The female had finished her bottle and was staring at Cas with a strange expression on her face.

"What?"

"I really like you," Beth blurted out, catching him by surprise. "You're kind and caring and you fell for us. I can't imagine what kind of courage that must've taken. You're my favourite person right now."

"I… like you too?"

"Not in that way, Cas," she whispered as she knelt beside him. "I _really _like you."

"Wha—" Castiel cut off abruptly as Beth suddenly cupped his face and drew him into a firm kiss. The angel returned the kiss without hesitating, pulling her closer with one hand. Beth went willingly, slowly moving to straddle his lap, her knees pressing against his hips.

"Cas," she whispered, pulling back just enough to meet his darkened eyes. Castiel moved back in first, locking their lips together again. Beth pushed the angel so he was lying down, his head cushioned by her pillows.

Castiel followed his instincts, giving in to them and appearing completely in control as he moved his hands up and began unbuttoning her cardigan after gaining a nod of confirmation from the Nephil. When the cardigan was removed and dropped to the floor, Beth yanked her top up over her head, pushing her long brown locks away from her face as she threw her top down next to her cardigan. Castiel followed her with his eyes, a strange heat stirring in the pit of his stomach as he watched her.

"You're wearing too much clothes," she murmured and grabbed the lapels of his coat, pulling him up enough so she could help him take his trench coat and suit jacket off, along with his tie and shirt. Cas sat up fully, Beth still sitting in his lap.

"I… I don't know what to do," he said quietly. Beth smiled softly, quickly coming down from her slightly drunken haze.

"It's okay, we don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

Castiel's eyes locked on hers. "I want to," he told her, surprising them both with his honesty. "I just don't know…"

"Just follow your instincts," she whispered. Cas nodded, leaning in and kissing her cheek. Beth ran her hands over his chest before curling her fingers over his shoulders tightly as he trailed his lips down to her neck. Castiel grabbed her hips roughly and twisted to the side, causing her to be lying down with him hovering over her. Beth pulled him back in, desperately wanting to connect with him in a way she never thought she would. Castiel seemed to sense how she was feeling and focused on it, wanting to give her what she needed and what he wanted.

* * *

A little while later, Beth lay on her left side, her eyes closed as she slowly came down from her post-sex bliss. Castiel lay behind her, the duvet pulled up to his waist. Beth turned her head to look over her shoulder at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"That was sex?" Castiel questioned, his face scrunching up. Beth nodded, her lips twitching slightly. "I like sex. Can we do it again?"

Beth's brows shot up in surprise and she rolled over to face him properly. "If you'd like. But not right now, I need some sleep."

Cas nodded thoughtfully, a pleased smile on his lips. Beth curled up against his side, her cheek resting over his heart. Cas hesitantly placed his arm over her waist, holding her against him.

"Happy birthday, Bethany," he whispered to her.

"This is one of the best birthdays ever," Beth said in reply. She fell asleep soon after that, feeling warm and content in Cas' arms.


	22. The Morning After

The next morning, Beth was roused from her sleep as sunlight came streaming in through the window and painted the insides of her eyelids with bright colours. She let out a soft moan, rolling onto her stomach and shifting closer to the source of heat beside her.

"Good morning."

Beth's eyes snapped open and she came face-to-face with Castiel. The angel was bare chested and covered by her duvet. She held a hand to her forehead in confusion… until the memories from the previous night came flooding back. To her surprise, she found that she didn't regret what had occurred between them, in _fact, _she quite enjoyed what had happened.

"Morning," she mumbled, offering him a smile that quickly turned into a loud yawn. A warm hand settled between her shoulders, drawing her attention back to Castiel's face.

"Dean called again," he said, handing her phone to her. "He wants us to meet them immediately."

Beth didn't speak as she took the offered phone. She blinked up at him. _Once. Twice. Three times. _Castiel frowned back at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I… I can see your halo," she whispered in amazement, her eyes locked on the spot just above his head. The air around him shifted subtly and then two large wings were folded tightly against his back. The pitch black appendages looked awfully cramped in the small space. "And your _wings. _Oh, they're _beautiful._"

A surprised look settled on Castiel's face at her statement and he glanced back over his shoulder, watching his wings flutter restlessly before settling against his back. When he turned around again, he realized that Beth had been watching his wings too.

"You can see them?" Beth nodded to confirm his question. "It's because you're half-angel," Cas realized.

"Really?"

"It only makes sense," Castiel started, settling down beside her again. Beth moved closer and propped herself up on her elbow, resting against his side as she looked down at him. "You have your powers now, you'll be able to do a lot more than you could before. You'll be able to see a demon's true face now too."

"Why can't I see yours?" she asked curiously.

"You're still part human, Beth. If I unveiled my true self to you, it could have everlasting side effects."

"Hmm, that does not sound good," Beth mumbled. She stretched out her limbs for a few minutes until her bones popped and she breathed a sigh of relief. She sat up, brushing her messy waves into a loose ponytail at the back of her head. "We should probably get back to the others. Dean'll be going crazy by now."

"That would be a good idea."

The two of them moved slowly, pulling on their various articles of clothing in a relaxed pace. When they were both fully dressed, Castiel stood up and offered a hand to Beth. She took it and lifted herself up off the bed. She leaned down and grabbed her bag, pulling the strap up onto her shoulder.

"Cas… I just wanted to thank you for last night," Beth started awkwardly. "You were there when I needed you. So, _thank you._"

Castiel didn't say anything, he didn't _need _to. He cupped Beth's face and kissed her gently before releasing her with a small smile.

"First one to Sam, Dean and Jesse wins," Beth uttered breathlessly and then she was gone, barely leaving Castiel time to register her words before he followed after her, flapping his wings as fast as he could to keep up with her.

* * *

"Hey, Beth," Dean started awkwardly, gaining his younger sister's attention. "I know you said you didn't want any presents but we all got you some things anyway."

Beth perked up slightly at the mention of presents as she stared at Dean expectantly. "You got me gifts?"

"You're only 19 once, Bethany," Sam told her, mock serious. "Might as well enjoy it."

Her brothers both reached into their duffel bags and pulled out a small pile of newspaper-wrapped gifts and set them on the table in front of Beth.

"We got you a cake too!" Jesse said, walking over to her and setting a box beside the presents. "Vanilla frosting with strawberry jam in the middle."

"You guys really didn't need to do this," Beth whispered, her eyes trailing over everything. Dean reached out with a hand and squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Just open your presents, princess."

Beth nodded and reached out, picking up the smallest wrapped object first. She quickly tore the paper open until she was able to pull the gift out. It was a small, dark blue box and she opened it to reveal a necklace with a small, golden owl charm on the end of it. "I love it, thank you." She passed it back to Sam who clasped it around her neck.

"I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if you would," Sam admitted. Beth smiled reassuringly up at him before she turned back to her presents.

* * *

A little while later, Beth had opened all of her presents and had made a wish and blown out her candles, all 19 of them. Her small family had devoured the cake within minutes. Dean had gotten Beth a couple of books to keep her occupied on their road trips. Sam had also gotten her a bracelet to go with her necklace and Jesse had gotten her a scarf with musical notes on it and Castiel had somehow managed to track down the photo of Beth, Adam and their mom that Beth had left behind in the Green room.

"This has been a really good birthday," Beth murmured from her spot on the couch with her head resting on the side of Cas' thigh.

"Glad you think so," Dean replied. He reached down to a brown paper bag beside him and pulled out a battered, old looking journal before handing it over to Beth. "This was our dad's journal. I thought you might want to have a look through it."

"…Thank you Dean," Beth whispered, running her fingers carefully over the fragile clasp that held the book shut. She clutched the book to her chest, knowing that every supernatural creature her dad had ever faced was written about in the journal she was currently holding onto for dear life.

"Just don't lose it."

"I won't, I swear." Her eyes flickered up to meet Castiel's. The angel had a look of understanding in his deep blue orbs and Beth found herself smiling almost bashfully up at him in response. Cas brought his hand down slowly and began running his fingers through Beth's soft, long brown hair.

"Happy birthday, Beth."


	23. Changing Channels

**Two Months Later**

**Wellington, Ohio**

Beth and Jesse looked up from the board game they were playing as Sam started questioning Dean on the TV show he was watching. The two hybrids shared a brief look of amusement as Dean tried to pass it off as channel-surfing and Sam rolled his eyes in good humour before he went off to grab his suit jacket and the case file on the current victim they were investigating.

"Right, we shouldn't be gone long," Dean started raising a finger in mock-warning at Beth and Jesse. "You two keep out of trouble and if anything happens—"

"Shoot first, ask questions later," Beth replied without looking away from the monopoly board. She was completely unaware that the phrase Dean had drilled into her head was the exact same one that their dad had drilled into Dean's head when he's a kid. "We'll be okay, Dean. I won't let anything happen to Jesse."

"Okay, good. We'll see you guys later," her older brother saluted at them and strolled out of the door with Sam hot on his heels.

Beth stood up, heading over to the door to lock it and watched through the window as Dean backed the Impala out of the parking space and waited until the car had disappeared around the corner before she turned around and sat down on the scratchy carpet, gesturing for Jesse to sit across from her.

"So, how have you been getting on with the exercises Cas gave us?" she asked softly, knowing that the kid was having as hard a time as she was with some of the things Castiel had been teaching them.

"I can make things move but I still can't teleport like he can," Jesse said, frustration clear in his voice. Beth gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, understanding flashing across her face.

"I haven't mastered that particular skill yet either," she admitted with a frown. "But I can make the light bulbs explode." Beth was quick to prove her statement as she glared up at the lightbulb and it exploded instantaneously, sending a shower of sparks and broken glass down on them.

"Y'know, kiddo, you could black out an entire town if you put your mind to it," a sudden voice said from behind them and Beth was on her feet seconds later, her long hair flying out as she quickly spun to face the intruder. Jesse scrambled to his feet behind her, making sure to keep the half-angel girl in front of him.

Beth's face screwed up coldly, her eyes darkening in anger when she realized who it was.

"…_Gabriel_."

* * *

Beth kept a secure grip on Jesse's hand, pulling him through yet another alleyway. After Gabriel, or the Trickster as her brothers knew him as, had explained to Beth and Jesse what was going to happen, he'd dropped them in TV-Land just like he'd done with Sam and Dean and then he disappeared, leaving Beth and Jesse no choice but to use what little experience they had with the powers as they found themselves surrounded by demons.

"Jesse, we have to keep going," she urged, knowing full well the boy was out of breathe and completely exhausted.

"My legs hurt," Jesse wheezed as he struggled to keep up with her fast pace. Beth stopped abruptly and crouched in front of him.

"Get on my back, I'll carry you for a while," she offered and waited patiently until he had wrapped his arms around her neck before she stood up and curled her hands around the back of his knees, carrying him piggyback style. "You okay up there?"

"Yeah. Thanks," Jesse replied quietly, unclasping his hands and letting his arms dangle past Beth's shoulders. "If anything comes at us, I'll take care of it."

"Just remember to focus and not waste too much energy." Jesse nodded in understanding. Beth smiled grimly and continued walking, taking care to focus on her surroundings. She didn't want to risk being caught off guard, especially when she had to take care of Jesse and keep him safe. She'd promised Dean she'd look after the kid and she'd be damned if she broke that promise now.

* * *

Beth had only stopped for a few seconds to take a much needed break, she had set Jesse down and slumped back against the wall, closing her eyes tightly and taking a deep breath in before exhaling harshly. A sudden gasping sound caught her attention and her eyes snapped open.

"D-Dad?" she whispered, the words catching painfully in her throat.

John Winchester stood in front of her, as tall and proud as she remembered him to be. Only this time, his face was cold, _detached _even, and he had Jesse in his grasp, a knife pressed to the boy's throat.

"Dad? What are you doing?" she asked fearfully. She looked down and met Jesse's terrified gaze.

"I didn't raise any of my kids to be weak," John said, his face eerily blank. "Not even the ones who were raised outside of the hunting life. But look at you, Bethany. Instead of saving your mom and Adam, you let them die. And now, you've befriended this monster, the same thing your brothers and I have spent our lives hunting. It's time you grew up Beth and stopped being a coward, a _disappointment. _It's time you learned how to be a _real _Winchester."

Tears stung Beth's eyes at her dad's harsh words and she bit her lip in an attempt to keep the tears from falling. She forced herself to get it together and raised her head to meet John's dark eyes.

"Screw you," Beth said, and then it was like something inside her broke and all she felt towards her dad was anger, disgust and bitter disappointment. "I wish I had _never met_ you! Every time you left us behind killed my mom! The amount of times she cried over you, over a love you would never give her broke her into thousands of pieces and Adam and I were left to put her back together again!"

Beth charged at her dad, tackling him away from Jesse, who quickly crawled away from the quarrelling father and daughter. The knife John had been holding onto clattered to the floor about 10 feet away from them. Beth quickly interceded her dad when he attempted to go after it. Beth reared her fist back and punched John roughly in the face. John fought back, delivering a punch of his own—the force was enough to send Beth stumbling backwards, where she tripped and scraped her cheek on the way down. "I _hate _you for the false hope you gave her, she deserved better than you and I wish she'd figured that out before you brought all this supernatural crap down on us. Those ghouls only found out about us because they followed _you _right to us." Beth pushed herself back to her feet and kicked John in the chest, tapping into her angel strength to send her dad flying away from her.

John grabbed the knife from the ground, jumped back to his feet, swinging out at Beth with it, the blade cut through her skin with ease, leaving a semi-deep cut through her eyebrow and half way up her forehead. Beth grabbed his wrist, snapping it back, causing him to release the weapon with a shout of pain. "It should've been you! You ruined everything and you destroyed my family!"

Beth continued to deliver blow after blow to John's face, unaware that her brothers and Cas had appeared beside Jesse and that Gabriel was watching from afar, completely taken off guard at the sudden turn of events, he'd never expected that she would actually find the courage to tell her dad how she really felt, but he couldn't deny that he was unbelievably proud of her, for doing what he couldn't.

Sam and Dean watched with wide eyes, they too, were floored at Beth's reaction. She'd never opened up to them about how she really felt about their dad, so seeing and hearing it first hand was really eye opening. "And I couldn't give a rat's ass what you think of me, you can call me a disappointment and you can call me a coward, it doesn't _matter._ I am so _done _needing your approval." Beth kicked John once more, watching in satisfaction as her dad collided with a wall and hit the ground with a thud, remaining absolutely still. She turned around, her face devoid of any emotion as she raised her eyes to meet Dean's shell-shocked gaze. "I'm leaving, _now. _You can stay here if you want," was all she said before she pushed past them and headed towards the door.

* * *

Beth was getting sick and tired of Gabriel's games. She just wanted it all to end so she could get back to her life and pretend none of it had happened. But apparently that wasn't going to happen, not until they finished '_playing their roles'_.

After the scene between her and her dad, Beth had been sent to one place and Sam and Dean had been sent somewhere else, but she had no idea where Castiel and Jesse were. So far, Beth had gone through about ten different channels, one had some crappy soap opera on it about a man and a woman who had defied all the odds that had been thrown at them and had gotten romantically involved with one another—Beth just assumed Gabriel knew about her and Castiel having had sex and he was trying to tease her about it relentlessly. Beth had been forced to play the female lead and a conjured-up Cas had played the male lead.

She was finally reunited with her brothers when she went through a chipped, white door and found herself in what looked like their motel room, only they were in front of a live studio audience. Sam and Dean were by the table, talking amongst themselves while a half-naked woman stood in the bedroom doorway. Beth kicked the door behind her closed, gaining the audiences' attention and they all clapped as they looked down at her, a few wolf whistles could even be heard, which made Beth clench her jaw as she walked over to her brothers.

"I am really, really sorry," Sam started, setting a hand on the black haired woman's shoulder and led her towards the door. "But we have work to do."

"But we did do work," the woman countered, sending a smirk up at Dean. "In depth."

Beth crossed her arms over her chest, fixing Dean with an unamused look as her brother tried to hide the smile spreading across his lips. The audience cheered loudly as Dean returned the dark haired woman's wave before the door shut in her face. Sam exhaled harshly, completely fed up with TV land.

"How long do we have to keep doing this?" Dean muttered to his siblings.

"I don't know," Sam admitted reluctantly.

"Don't look at me, how should I know?" Beth grumbled as they turned to look at her.

"Maybe we're stuck here forever?" Sam offered pitifully, gaining a round of chuckles from the audience. "We might die in here." The audience laughed again.

"How the hell is that funny?" Dean demanded, throwing his hands out as he glared in the direction of the audience. "Pack of damn vultures."

The door flew open suddenly and Castiel and Jesse came tumbling through it. The angel had a cut across the bridge of his nose that was bleeding slowly and Jesse had a few cuts and bruises on his arms and face.

"Cas! What the hell happened?" Beth asked, pulling his trench-coat open to see if he had any other injuries. Castiel grabbed Beth's hands, holding them tightly as he gave her a quick, reassuring look before his attention was drawn to an equally concerned Dean.

"I don't have much time," Cas explained.

"What happened?" Sam interrupted as he took in Cas' dishevelled appearance.

"I got out," the angel replied tightly. "Listen to me, something's not right—this thing is far more powerful than it should be." Beth glanced away, knowing without a doubt that Castiel had no idea that the trickster was actually Gabriel.

"What, the Trickster?" Dean asked.

"If it _is _a trickster," Castiel pointed out, walking closer to the hunters.

"What do you mean?"

"Cas!" Beth cried out as the angel was roughly thrown backwards against the wall, she scrambled after him and dropped to her knees, curling a hand around his arm. "Are you okay?"

Gabriel appeared seconds later, bursting through the door with a wide, cocky grin playing at his lips as he shouted a loud "Hello!" to the audience, in return, he got a serious of excited cheers and a round of applause.

Beth helped Castiel climb to feet, blinking in surprise as she caught sight of the duct tape that had somehow ended up across Cas' mouth.

"Hiya Castiel," Gabriel greeted cheerfully, staring at his brother with bright eyes. Castiel's eyes widened in disbelief and he looked to the Winchester brothers in panic, but before he could do anything, Gabriel waved a hand at him and both he, Beth and Jesse disappeared from sight.

* * *

The angel and the two hybrids stumbled in all directions as they suddenly touched down in a dirty old warehouse. Their clothes were all askew from the many different channels they'd been through and they all seemed to have gained even more cuts and bruises. Beth even had a black eye and a split lip.

Beth glanced around in confusion, her right eye throbbing painfully. She finally turned around and caught sight of her brothers. She immediately ran across the concrete floor and threw herself at Dean, hugging him with all her might.

"Hey, it's okay. I got you," Dean promised her quietly, wrapping his arms tightly around her in return. Gabriel watched the exchange wistfully, remembering a time when Michael would've done the same for him when he was upset or scared. Oh, how he wished he could go back to those days, but he knew it was pointless—his family would never be whole again. "Cas, are you okay?" Dean met Cas' weary gaze in concern, something that surprised Gabriel even more—did these humans _genuinely _care for his brother? He got his answer as Sam reached out and gripped Cas' shoulder with his large hand, conveying with his hazel eyes that he was glad Castiel was relatively unharmed and back with them.

"Hello, Gabriel," Castiel said lowly, his eyes narrowing as he looked down on his older brother.

"Hey bro," Gabriel returned, snapping out of his thoughts. "How's the search for daddy going? Let me guess, _awful._" He raised his eyebrows and sent his brother a pointed look, paying little attention to the way Castiel's eyes widened in anger or the way Beth pulled out of Dean's embrace and reached out to link her fingers between Cas' without even thinking about it.

"C'mon, we're leaving," Dean said, gaining everyone's attention. Beth remained holding Castiel's hand as she beckoned Jesse over. The shaggy-haired kid scuffed his feet as he walked over to stand beside Beth. They all turned away from Gabriel, walking slowly in the direction of the exit. Though Beth kept looking back over her shoulder at him. She was furious at the Archangel for what he'd put them all through over the past couple of days but she couldn't deny that she cared about him too—he'd been more of a dad to her and Adam than John had ever been. He'd been there when Beth walked for the first time and when Adam said his first word. He was the one who had kept track of each and every milestone the Milligan-Winchester twins reached. He was the first, _real_ friend Beth ever had, aside from her twin and mom of course. She couldn't just leave him trapped in the holy fire.

"So, you're just gonna leave me here?" Gabriel called out. Beth's brothers ignored him at first, until Dean reached the switch that would turn the sprinklers on.

"No. We're not," Dean explained as he turned back to face the archangel. "We're not gonna do that because we don't screw with people for kicks the way you do. And while we're at it, this isn't about some prize fight between your brothers or some destiny that _can't be stopped, _this is about _you _being _too afraid _to stand up to your family!" Dean's voice rose with his anger until he was shouting at Gabriel.

"Dean, that's enough," Beth warned softly, taking pity on Gabriel. She raised her fist and drove it into the glass, it shattered easily and a wailing sound filled the air before the sprinklers sputtered to life and the holy fire began to die down. Castiel reached out and took her hand, waving his fingers over her bloody, torn up knuckles and healing them instantly.

"Don't say we never did anything for you!" Dean called over his shoulder as he herded his siblings, Cas and Jesse out the door. "All that stuff he was spouting in there, think any of its true?" Dean asked as they all crowded around the Impala.

"I think he believes it," Sam answered with a heavy sigh.

"So, what do we do?"

"I'm all out of suggestions," Beth said, leaning back against the car and resting her head on the room.

"I'll tell you something, right about now, I'm wishing I was back in TV land," Dean admitted.

"Me too," Sam agreed softly.

"I have to disagree, especially after all that crap that I had to go through," Beth input, gaining a nod of agreement from Jesse and Castiel.

"Yeah, about that, we're gonna have a real long talk about that soon," Dean promised, giving Beth a look that suggested she didn't have a choice in the matter. She huffed in frustration but didn't bother arguing with her brother, knowing that it would get her nowhere. The conversation came to an abrupt end and they all climbed into the car, slamming the doors behind them. Dean started the car and they drove off without even looking back.


	24. The Real Ghostbusters

**22nd of November, 2009**

**Pineview Hotel, Vermilion, Ohio**

"Did Chuck even tell you what was so important that we had to haul ass here in the middle of the night?" Beth questioned, clinging to the seat for dear life as Dean raced around the corner into the parking lot of the Pineview Hotel. Jesse wasn't so lucky and he was sent, face first, onto the floor of the backseat.

"No, he just texted Sam and told us to get here ASAP," Dean replied shortly. Beth rolled her eyes at his tone and reached down to help Jesse back into his seat.

The second the car was parked and the key had been taken out of the ignition, the four of them scrambled out of the Impala and started jogging in the direction of the hotel's entrance. Dean stopped briefly, taking in the line of familiar impala's with confused eyes.

"Dean, come on!" Sam's sudden call snapped him out of it and he rushed to catch up with his family.

"Hey Chuck!" Beth shouted happily at the sight of the prophet. Chuck spun around, eyes going wide in shock at the sight of them.

"G-Guys?" he stuttered out.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, semi-polite after he received an elbow to the ribs from Beth.

"Uh, nothing really," Chuck replied hesitantly. "Just kinda hanging… what are you guys doing here?"

"You told us to come, Chuck," Dean explained shortly.

"I didn't tell you to come here," Chuck said as he raised an eyebrow.

Beth reached into Sam's pocket and pulled out his phone, flipping it open and holding it out to Chuck the moment she found the text. The Prophet took the phone and skimmed through the text that said: **Pineview Hotel. Vermilion, Ohio. Life or death situation, get here ASAP.**

"I-I didn't send you this text, Sam," Chuck told him honestly. He passed the phone back to Beth who tossed it to her brother.

"We drove here as fast as we could. We drove _all night,_" Dean growled, a dark note creeping into his voice as he bore down on the prophet with his anger and exhaustion.

"I'm sorry that you've wasted your time," Chuck started, taking a wary step back. "But I _didn't _send that text and it's not a life or death situation. I honestly don't know how…" Chuck cut off abruptly and made a noise of understanding. "Oh no…"

"What's wrong?" Beth asked, meeting Chuck's wary gaze.

"Sam? You made it!" A familiar, high pitched voice exclaimed. The five of them all turned at once to find Becky Rosen standing at the top of the steps, staring down at them with wide eyes.

"Uh… Becky, right?" Sam said hesitantly, unsure if he'd gotten her name right. Becky all but hopped down the steps and stopped between Sam and Chuck.

"Oh my, you remembered. You've been thinking about me," Becky replied, excitement filling her voice. Jesse turned his head up to look at Beth, giving her a look that said 'what the hell?' Beth bit back a chuckle and ruffled Jesse's hair in response. Sam paled a little and he was in the middle of struggling to think of a reply when Becky waved her hand at him. "It's okay. I've been thinking of you too."

"Becky, did you take my phone?" Chuck interrupted, glancing between Becky and Sam with narrowed eyes.

"I just borrowed it from your pants," Becky replied innocently.

"Becky!"

"What?" The blonde said defensively. "They're gonna want to see it."

"See what?" Sam and Dean questioned in unison.

"Wow. I _love _it when they talk at the same time!" Becky yelped, grinning up at them.

"Hey, Chuck! It's show time!" A man wearing a pale yellow shirt called down to them, a clipboard was clutched tightly in his hands and he glanced at it every few seconds, marking something down with his pen.

"What the hell is going on?" Beth queried, and her sudden question had Becky shrieking again as she all but threw herself at Beth and hugged her tightly around the neck. "Woah, hey Becky," Beth choked out, stumbling back a few steps at the tackle-hug. She patted Becky's back awkwardly until the hyperactive blonde released her and set her sights on Jesse instead.

"Oh my God, is that—" Becky stopped abruptly. "Is that _Jesse? _The half human, half demon child you saved from Castiel?"

"Yeah, this is Jesse Turner," Beth introduced, nodding at Jesse to come forward, which he did so reluctantly. "Jesse, this is Becky."

"It is so cool to meet you," Becky said quickly as she grabbed their arms and hauled them up the stairs towards the hotel, leaving Sam and Dean to talk to Chuck.

* * *

Beth's mouth dropped open in disbelief as a tall brunette walked past her, dressed exactly like Sam was, he even had the same haircut as her brother. "What the actual hell?" she whispered, meeting Jesse's confused eyes, and then she spotted a guy across the room dressed like Dean, complete with dark blonde hair, Dean's thick army boots and the leather jacket she'd seen him wear on multiple occasions. "What's going on? Why is that guy dressed like Dean? And why are there clowns and scarecrows here?"

To the left of them, was two or three tables pushed together that was holding a whole bunch of merchandise with the word 'Supernatural' on it, there were a few mugs with the Impala on them, a couple with 'Route 66' printed on them in big, bold letters and a couple stacks of books lined the tables too.

"Becky, what is this?" Sam asked, his tone suggesting he really didn't want to know the answer.

"It's awesome!" Becky sung giddily. "The first ever Supernatural convention."

Beth looked around her, doing a double take as she caught sight of a guy with yellow eyes and another guy dressed as Bobby. Dean seemed to have the same reaction as her as he quickly looked away from the yellow-eyed man.

The man wearing the yellow shirt from before walked up on stage, still clutching his clipboard in a tight fist. "Hello everybody, welcome to the first annual Supernatural convention. At 3:45 in the Magnolia room, we have the panel—Frightened Little Boy: The Secret Life of Dean. And at 4:30, we have the Homoerotic Subtext of Supernatural." Beth snorted at that, her cheeks flushing slightly as a few on the people sitting down glanced back at her in annoyance. "And of course, the big hunt starts at 7:00pm sharp." When the man finished talking, a round of cheers went up amongst the crowd and a few of them even clapped enthusiastically too. "Right now, I'd like to introduce the man himself. The creator and writer of the Supernatural books, the one, the only _Carver Edlund!_"

The cheering and clapping started up again as Chuck tentatively stepped up onto the stage, peeking out at the attendees with wide, slightly nervous eyes. Chuck muttered under his breath for a minute before he grabbed a water bottle and took a long gulp from it.

"Um, so, uh… any questions?" Chuck asked awkwardly. A few hands went up and Chuck pointed towards a tall man dressed as Sam.

"Hey, Mr Edlund, big fan," the man started, referring to himself. "I was just wondering, where did you come up with Sam and Dean in the first place?"

"Oh… I… it just came to me," Chuck excused pathetically, taking note of the tense expressions on the Winchester family's faces. Dean pursed his lips, irritated but remained silent as he stood in between Beth and Sam. Jesse was standing on a chair in front of Beth so he could see too. "Okay, hook man," Chuck said, gesturing for the hook man to stand up.

"Why in every fight scene, Sam and Dean are having their knife or gun knocked away by the bad guys?" the hook man asked loudly, his strong accent filling the room. "Why don't they keep it on some kind of bungee?"

"That's kind of a good idea," Beth murmured thoughtfully to Sam, who tilted his head to the side in agreement.

"Uh, follow up," the hook man interrupted as Chuck attempted to answer his first question. "Why can't Sam and Dean be telling Ruby is evil? I mean, she is clearly manipulating Sam in some kind of moral lapse. It's obvious, _nein?_"

"Another good point," Beth whispered and both Sam and Dean elbowed her at once, causing her to let out a quiet 'ouch!' as she rubbed her aching sides.

"Hey! If you don't like the books, don't read them, Fritz!" Becky shouted, marching towards the shell-shocked hook man. Beth quickly went after the blonde and grabbed her arm, successfully stopping her from doing something she might later regret.

"Okay, just calm down," Chuck said into the microphone, meeting Becky's infuriated eyes. "It's okay. So, what's the next question?"

Another man dressed like Sam stood up and smiled nervously up at Chuck. "At the end of the last book, Dean goes to hell. What happens next?"

"Well, there lies an announcement, actually," Chuck explained. "You're all gonna find out, thanks to a wealthy Scandinavian investor, we're going to start publishing again."

The crowd erupted into excited cheers at Chuck's news, whilst Sam and Dean shared an angry look before they called Beth back over and Sam plucked Jesse off the chair before herding the younger two out the door.

* * *

"Dean, you need to take a chill pill," Beth told her brother as he marched towards where Chuck and Becky were sitting and talking.

"Excuse us," Dean barked, ignoring Beth's words. "In case you haven't noticed, our plates are kinda full, okay? Finding the Colt. Hunting the Devil. Trying to help those two control their powers," Dean jerked his thumb at Beth and Jesse who immediately felt uncomfortable as all eyes flickered to them and away again. "We don't have time for this crap."

"Hey! I didn't call you," Chuck shot back defensively.

"He means the books, Chuck," Sam explained in a more polite tone than his brother. "Why are you publishing more books?"

"For food and shelter," Chuck replied in a 'duh' tone.

"Who gave you the rights to our life story?" Dean demanded, leaning over Chuck.

"An Archangel and I didn't exactly ask for it," Chuck snapped, growing sick of Dean trying to bully him.

"Look, the deal's off. No more books," Sam interrupted. "Our lives are not for public consumption."

"Becky, would you excuse us for a second?" Chuck asked politely. Becky let out a quick 'Uh-huh' before she stood up and gestured for Beth to follow her over to the bar. Beth headed after the blonde woman slowly, waiting for Jesse to catch up. Sam, Dean and Chuck left the room, heading out into the deserted corridor so they could talk in private.

* * *

A few hours later, Beth was wandering through the old hotel with Jesse trailing along beside her. Beth's brothers were still downstairs, talking to Chuck or having a few beers, Beth didn't know… or really care. She was more interested in finding out if any of the ghost crap the event coordinator and the 'maid' had been talking about was true or not. So far, she'd found nothing.

"Beth?" Jesse asked quietly. Beth glanced down at the kid immediately.

"What's up?"

"What you said to your dad… or whatever it was the trickster conjured, did you mean it?" he asked her curiously.

Beth looked down, a sigh escaping. She knew one of them was bound to ask at some point, she was just a little surprised it was Jesse that finally built up the courage to ask her outright.

"I've spent the last few months bottling up how I really feel about my dad," she explained. "Part of me absolutely, 100% hates him for putting my family in danger and for what he did to Sam and Dean, forcing them to grow up in this life… and the other part is telling me that he did the best that he could, that he never meant to get my mom, Adam and I involved in his other life but it was bound to happen eventually…" Beth trailed off uncomfortably, rubbing the back of her neck as she started walking again. "I don't know how I feel about him, Jesse. Until I figure it out for myself, I'd rather not talk about it."

"Dean's not gonna let it go," Jesse pointed out before he dropped the subject and walked ahead of Beth.

"I know. That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

A little while later, Jesse wandered back to the convention to find Sam and Dean, leaving Beth alone with her thoughts. She'd just turned the corner when she suddenly ran straight into another person, causing them both to fall in a tangled heap to the floor.

"Wow. I'm so sorry," the guy in front of her said quickly, scrambling to his feet and leaning down to help her up.

"God dude, where's the fire?" Beth asked as she straightened out her clothes and rubbed her sore elbow.

"I didn't mean to run into you. There was this kid and he looked freaked out and then he just… he just _vanished _into thin air," he explained enthusiastically, his hands gesturing wildly as he recalled what had happened only moments before.

"Wait, wait, wait. This kid, he vanished?" Beth cut in, interrupting the man's unintelligible babble. He nodded eagerly in confirmation. There was a few moments of silence in which Beth blinked in surprise before coming to the sudden realization that it was a ghost the guy had seen as she was suddenly sent flying through the air into some glass cabinet doors. She hit the ground with a thud, clutching her arm tightly as she rolled over to see the other guy upside down in mid-air and being thrown about the room.

"_Naughty. Naughty. Naughty!_" a deathly pale woman wearing an old fashioned dress appeared suddenly, an inhuman sneer tugging at her lips. The ghost went to attack the man and Beth immediately rose to help him.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Beth shouted, still clutching her arm as she wobbled unsteadily on her feet.

The ghost's attention was drawn to Beth and her crazed eyes seemed to widen and the manic look bled from her dark brown orbs as she gazed at Beth in what seemed like awe.

"What are you?" the ghost whispered as she extended a hand out towards her. Beth took a quick step backwards. "The light—it's _beautiful._" The crazed look returned to the ghost's face and she let out an ear piercing wail as she charged at Beth. The half human, half angel cried out in pain as the woman collided with her, evaporating into grey mist but leaving behind the sensation that Beth's internal organs were freezing over. Beth dropped like a sack of potatoes, her head cracking against the wooden floorboards with a sickening smack. Her body began shaking uncontrollably as tremor after tremor shot through her.

"Holy shit," the other victim gasped out. He was bleeding from his hairline and his ear, but he rushed across the room and awkwardly lifted Beth up into his arms and raced for the door. Beth's head hung limply in the crook of his elbow, her hair swaying from side to side as he moved. "It's gonna be okay. I-I'll find those two guys you were with, they'll help."

Beth's only response was a ragged sigh that crawled past her lips, her whole body felt like it was frozen and she couldn't even move a muscle.

* * *

"Help!" Beth was jarred roughly as the guy carrying her pushed the door open and struggled to manoeuvre them both through it. He eventually managed and staggered into the bar area. "Help us!" He dropped to his knees, still cradling Beth closely.

"What the hell? Beth!" Dean shouted frantically, shoving people aside as he ran over. He also knelt down beside them, transferring Beth to his own arms and cupping her face gently. Her body was still shaking and her skin was paper white, her lips tinted a light blue. "What happened?" Dean demanded, grabbing the guy—he now knew as Alex, thanks to the girl he'd been flirting with—and yanking him closer by the lapel of his jacket. A small crowd had gathered around the trio, watching the scene with obvious concern.

"That woman, Leticia Gore? She's freaking real! She went bat-shit crazy and beat the crap out us," Alex explained rapidly, his hands shaking from shock. "She collided with Beth and disappeared then Beth just collapsed and started shaking."

"What's going on here?" Chuck broke through the crowd with Sam, Jesse and Becky right behind him.

"Chuck, is there somewhere private I can take Beth?" Dean asked, picking Beth up and standing with some help from Alex.

"Uh yeah, there's a study. Follow me," Chuck said quickly, already hurrying off in the direction of the study and Dean wasted no time following the prophet. Sam, Jesse and Becky all shared a glance before they too chased after the others.

* * *

"Beth, can you tell me what happened?" Dean asked softly, sitting by Beth's head as he held her hand. His sister was still pale and freezing cold but the shaking had gone down quite a bit.

Beth's earthy brown and green eyes weakly flickered up to meet his and she nodded slowly. "Leticia, she ran right into me and the feeling she left behind was so cold. I-I couldn't move it hurt so bad. Dean, she's so angry. I could feel it when she passed through me."

"It's okay," Dean assured her quietly, squeezing her fingers gently. "We're gonna gank her and no one else will get hurt."

"I-I wanna help," Beth murmured and then she was struggling to get off the couch. Dean immediately reached out and grabbed her arms as she stumbled and fell into him with a weak groan.

"Wow. Hey, take it easy," Dean exclaimed. He pushed her back down carefully until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the couch and she had no choice but to sit back down. "You aren't going anywhere," he said firmly. "Sam and I will deal with the ghost, okay?"

"I'm not useless, Dean, I can do _something _to help get rid of her," Beth argued. Dean caught on to the displeasure in her voice and he exhaled harshly.

"I know you're not useless Beth," he said. "And the only thing you can do right now that's going to help _anyone _is if you stay right here and get better."

"_Fine._" Beth grumbled a few times under her breath, causing Dean to roll his eyes as he reached out to ruffle Beth's hair.

"I'll call Cas," Dean said a few seconds later as he stood back up and looked down at her. "He'll make sure you stay where you are."

"I'm not a baby, Dean. I don't need anyone to babysit me. Besides, if Cas is watching me, then who's watching Jesse?"

"That crazy lady Becky is with him, so is Chuck. Jesse will be fine," Dean explained before he tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. "Hey, Castiel!" He called out, ignoring his sister's protests. "I need a favour man!"

Castiel appeared by the door, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Beth's pale face and Dean's worried expression. Beth stared back at him, her cheeks growing warm at the intensity of his gaze.

"Cas," Dean spoke up, interrupting the angel and Beth's rather intimate moment. "I need you to keep an eye on Beth, make sure she doesn't leave this room."

"Of course, how long is she to be held here?"

"Until Sam and I have ganked the ghost bitch that tried to kill her," Dean replied. Castiel's eyes darkened as he returned his stare to Beth's face. The angel nodded firmly, assuring Dean he would watch Beth. "See ya in a couple hours," Dean said to his sister, winking as he departed from the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Beth and Castiel alone together.

* * *

Castiel stood by the closed door, following Beth with his eyes as she slowly stood up and walked over to the mirror above the fireplace. Beth pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and looked in the mirror—her hair was a tangled mess around her pale face, she'd gotten a little colour back in her cheeks and her lips had lost the blue-bint to them but there were dark circles under her eyes, which made the black eye she'd received during Gabriel's tv-land prank, even darker and the cut at her eyebrow was beginning to scab over.

"I look like crap," she mumbled and proceeded to comb her fingers through her hair the best she could without tugging any strands out or pulling at the roots.

"I think you look nice." Beth jumped at the sudden voice, which resulted in her getting her fingers caught in her hair and yanking it roughly. She let out a yelp of pain and tried to free her fingers but only ended up getting them even more tangled in the hair. "Stop struggling," Cas said as he stopped behind her. Beth's head snapped up and their eyes met through the mirror. Beth stopped moving and Castiel raised his hands, carefully untangling her hair with quick fingers. The second she was free, Beth turned around and looked up at the angel with a soft smile.

"Thank you," she whispered, and they both knew she wasn't talking about him helping her with her hair. Castiel nodded in response. Beth reached out and took his hand, curling her fingers around it. An unfamiliar feeling twisted and turned in Castiel's stomach as they stared at each other, just content to stand there silently, holding hands. "I know I've never told you this, but I _am _glad that I met you and that you sacrificed yourself for us. It's a lot more than we deserve."

"I would do it again if the need arose," Castiel murmured, absentmindedly brushing his thumb back and forth across the back of Beth's hand. Beth curled the fingers of her free hand around the back of his neck and they came together for a soft, gentle kiss.

"I know." She smiled up at him as she pulled away for air briefly before they kissed again. The door flew open seconds later and Becky appeared in the entrance of the room.

"Hey, Beth—" the blonde woman cut off abruptly, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of Castiel and Beth in mid-kiss. The two broke apart quickly at the interruption. "I am so sorry. I-I'll leave you two alone." Becky retreated from the room and slammed the door behind her. Beth's cheeks darkened at being caught having such an intimate moment with Castiel, and the angel looked down at her in concern once again.

* * *

"What is it?"

There was a brief pause and then Beth shrugged pathetically, refusing to meet his gaze. "Is this wrong?"

"Is _what _wrong?" Castiel asked, completely confused as her sudden question.

"Us. I-I mean, whatever it is that's going on between us," Beth clarified softly as she twisted her fingers together.

"I… don't know," Castiel replied finally, the concern in his eyes morphing into cluelessness. "I don't know much about a lot of things, it seems."

"What do you feel, in _here_?" Beth raised her hand slowly and set it over his heart. "About… About _me_?"

Castiel glanced down at the spot where Beth's hand rested and he frowned. His eyes flickered back up to meet hers and he closed his larger hand around hers. "I feel _warm _and _happy _when I see your face," he admitted, though he looked as though he didn't understand it.

"I… I feel that way too… about _you,_" Beth admitted softly. "It shouldn't happen though, should it? You're an _angel _and I'm—I'm a _freak. _I shouldn't even exist_._"

"Don't ever say that again," Castiel said gruffly, looking surprisingly angered at her words. Beth blinked in surprise. Castiel exhaled harshly as he raised his free hand and cupped her cheek. "I've never had the best opinion on Nephilim, neither have any of my brothers or sisters. The half-angel, half-humans were violent and bloodthirsty. They were completely out of control. But _you _are different. I'd never met a Nephil like you before—you're not a freak, Bethany. You're good and you'll always be good."

Tears were in Beth's eyes by the end of Castiel's speech and her bottom lip was trembling slightly. She took a step closer to him and slipped her arms around his mid-riff. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

* * *

The next day, the Winchesters, Jesse and Castiel were preparing to leave after Sam and Dean had helped two of the convention goers get rid of the ghost of Leticia Gore, though it turned out it was the kid ghosts that were the problem and so they were taken care of as well.

Sam and Dean were standing with Chuck and Becky and Beth, Castiel and Jesse were in the backseat of the Impala with the brown haired woman in between the angel and the child.

"Hey, Cas…" Beth said lowly so as to not distract Jesse who was busy reading through a comic book Dean had given him. "Thank you for cheering me up last night."

Castiel nodded without saying anything, and he didn't need to, Beth already knew that he would always be prepared to help her feel better and she would do the same for him, if he ever needed her to.


	25. Abandon All Hope (Part 1)

**A/N - Just to let you all know, I'm gonna split this episode into 2 chapters because it's long enough as it is and I don't want to keep you waiting any longer.**

* * *

"_Bethany."_

_Beth turned quickly at the sound of her name and found Lucifer standing in the doorway. A strange mix of hope and relief filled Beth at the sight of the archangel._

"_Is this a dream? Is that how you've been speaking to me?" She asked, glancing around the room that was identical to the one she'd fallen asleep in._

"_I can't find you, obviously," he started and gestured to her ribs, where the Enochian sigils were craved into the bones. "So yes, I'm contacting you through your dreams."_

"_What do you want?"_

"_It's time for you to urge your kind out of hiding," Lucifer explained. He walked over and sat down beside her on the bed._

"_Out of hiding?" Beth echoed, confused. _

"_The ones you've met already were created by the fallen angels," he told her softly. "The ones in hiding were created by the archangels in Heaven and my Father."_

"_Why are they hiding?" _

"_They are afraid of my brothers and sisters. They're afraid they'll be cut down the moment they show their faces." _

"_How am I supposed to convince them to come out of hiding?" Beth asked, feeling sympathetic towards the ones she supposed could be classed as family. She knew how violent and intimidating the angels could be. "I can't even control my powers."_

_Lucifer set a heavy hand on her knee, curling his fingers around the bone. "You are descended from the very first Nephilim created by the other archangels and Father, they will know who you are and will bow down immediately. If any of them questions your authority, you will show them why they should bend a knee to you."_

"…_How?" _

"_If you believe you can do it, it will be done." Lucifer stood back up, staring down at her. "Just believe, Beth. You have it in you."_

"_I'll try my best."_

"_I know you will." His lips twitched into the tiniest hint of a smile. "It's time to wake up, Beth. You have work to do."_

_Lucifer snapped his fingers and Beth was sent flying back to consciousness._

* * *

Beth snapped awake with a gasp, her eyelids flying open as she shot into a sitting position. She glanced around wildly, wondering where she was until her eyes landed on Castiel and she realized she was in Bobby's guest room and the angel was staring back at her in concern.

"Are you alright?"

"I-I… I think so," she said finally, rubbing at her forehead. She looked back up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Dean, Sam and Bobby are downstairs," Cas explained. "Two women called Ellen and Jo are also here. They seem eager to meet you."

"Oh. Good. I guess it's because I'll be the first Nephilim they've ever seen?" Beth asked rhetorically. Castiel nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. Jo seems under the impression you'll have wings and a halo, like a normal angel," he told her as she slipped off the bed and walked over to him. "I don't think she understands what a Nephilim really is."

"I guess we should go and show her then," Beth murmured. She was about to walk past him when his hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her arm. Her eyes snapped up to meet his.

"How long have you been having dreams about my brother?" Castiel asked softly. Beth flinched at the blunt question. She shrugged and looked to the door in an attempt to escape his unrelenting gaze. "Bethany…"

"A while… since Becky caught us kissing," she admitted finally. "He wants me to find the rest of my kind, to convince them to come out of hiding."

"Are you going to do it?"

Beth had to blink back the sudden urge to cry. "I don't know what to do. If I help him, I risk the lives of the other Nephilim against the archangels in heaven and it gives him the advantage and I lose all trust and respect I've gotten from Sam and Dean and Bobby and…and _you._ But if I don't help him, he'll kill me and the others. I-I don't know what to do, Cas."

"I understand, trying to decide which path to follow is always difficult," Castiel started, still holding onto her arm. "I also know how tempting my brother can be. After he fell, he spoke to all of us. His words were poisonous and sometimes cruel but they were also so very tempting. I, myself, had often found myself listening to him when I shouldn't have been. I suspect I would've been swayed by his words had it not been for Ariel and my old friend Balthazar."

"My brothers don't understand what it's like. They don't trust me as much as they did before I said I wanted to go back to Lucifer. Dean looks at me differently, he thinks I haven't noticed but how can I not? He watches me like a hawk and sometimes… sometimes I think he's afraid of me." Beth looked down, tears finally spilling from her eyes.

"If it helps, I'm not afraid of you," Castiel murmured, he brought his hands up and carefully brushed away her tears.

"Yeah. Yeah, that does help," she admitted and sent him a small smile. She dragged the sleeve of her hoodie across her eyes. "I don't think I can ever thank you enough for dealing with my, and my brothers, crap. There's Jesse too, I know how difficult it is for you to be around him. It's just not exactly an easy thing to deal with especially when you're new to the whole emotions thing."

"We help each other," Cas told her with a crooked smile.

Beth returned his smile and twisted her arm to take his hand. She led him out the door and towards the stairs so she could go down and meet the famous 'Ellen and Jo'.

* * *

The second Beth walked into the living room with Castiel still holding her hand, she was practically ambushed in a hug by a tall woman with dark blonde hair and dark green eyes.

"Wow. Uh, hello," Beth forced out, trying not to choke as the older woman's arms tightened around her neck.

"It's good to meet ya, Beth," the woman replied as she pulled back and clasped her hands on Beth's shoulders instead. "Dean just finished telling us about you. I'm sorry about your mom and Adam."

"It's fine, thank you." Beth smiled reassuringly up at her. "You must be Ellen."

"That's me," Ellen confirmed, returning her smile readily. Ellen steered Beth in the direction of the kitchen by her shoulder. Beth continued to hold onto Cas' hand tightly. "This is my daughter, Joanna-Beth."

Beth smiled in amusement at Jo's full name. She reached out and shook Jo's hand. "It's nice to meet you. Sam's told me about that H.H. Holmes case you worked with them a couple years back, you were really brave."

"It wasn't that big a deal," Jo said, embarrassed. The older blonde's cheeks turned a light pink. "Everyone calls me Jo, by the way."

Beth grinned briefly at Jo before she turned slightly to talk to Sam, Dean and Bobby who were all by the fridge, watching the introductions with amused eyes. Ellen joined the conversation as well. Jo moved towards the fridge to get a bottle of beer when her eyes flickered down and caught sight of Beth and Castiel inconspicuously holding hands. The interlocked limbs were hidden in between the two of them. The blonde woman smirked slightly and continued on her path to get a beer, deciding she'd talk to Beth about it later and she wouldn't tell Beth's brothers, knowing full well how overprotective the two Winchester boys were.

* * *

"So, Beth," Jo started, smiling gently at the teenager. She'd been waiting until she could get Beth alone before she tried to bring up what she'd witnessed the Nephilim and the angel doing before. "Are you involved with anyone?"

Beth choked on a mouthful of water and she turned to stare at Jo with wide eyes. "W-why would you ask me something like that?"

"I saw you and Castiel before. Holding hands," Jo explained quietly, glancing towards the door as Sam passed by.

"I won't deny that there's something between me and him but I don't fully know what it is yet," Beth replied hesitantly. "You won't tell my brothers, will you? I don't want to give Dean another reason to get angry with me."

"My lips are sealed," Jo promised, squeezing Beth's arm. A mischievous smile crossed the blonde's face. "So, give me the details."

"…What do you wanna know?" Beth asked.

"Have you guys kissed? Or did you jump straight into the sack?" Jo asked bluntly. Beth's cheeks turned bright red and she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear.

"We, uh, we've actually done both," Beth replied, her cheeks turning bright pink. "I really like him, y'know? I…I think Cas is the first guy I've ever _really _cared about."

"Hey, Beth!" Dean's sudden shout from the kitchen had the two females jumping in surprise and they both quickly turned to see him standing by the kitchen table. "I wanna talk to you, c'mon!"

"I best go see what he wants," Beth said, sharing a smile with Jo as she set her glass down on the table and stood up. She headed into the kitchen and Dean held a hand out to her, Beth took it and allowed her brother to drag her out the back door.

* * *

"What do you wanna talk about?" Beth asked her brother as they stopped at an old car far enough away from the house that no one should be able to eavesdrop on them.

"Anything you want," Dean said, sitting on the trunk of the rusted green car.

"Anything?" Beth repeated dubiously. Dean nodded in confirmation, a small smile crossing his face as Beth frowned in response.

"We might as well, who knows what will happen tomorrow?" Dean asked rhetorically.

"This is about dad, isn't it?" Beth sat down beside him. "You want me to tell you if what I said about dad is true. Did Sammy put you up to this?"

"Okay, maybe Sam convinced me to talk to you," Dean started, meeting his eyes. "But I _was _planning on it eventually."

Beth's lips twitched in amusement as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against Dean's side. "I know dad meant a lot to you, Dean and don't get me wrong, he meant a lot to me too. I love our dad, but I-I just feel like it's his fault, y'know? If he had just told us what he did for a living, then maybe we could've done something to protect ourselves from the ghouls. I could've kept mom and Adam safe."

"Beth, what happened to Kate and Adam wasn't your fault," Dean told her softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Then why do I feel so guilty that I survived and they didn't?" Beth asked quietly. Dean sighed sadly and wrapped his other arm around her, hugging her tightly.

"It's okay. I've got you," Dean promised, pressing a kiss to her hair. "I'm always gonna be here when you need me."

"I know you will. I'm here for you too," Beth murmured. She huddled deeper into Dean's warmth, knowing that she would always be safe in her big brother's arms. Nothing could possibly harm her when she had Dean to protect her.

"You're gonna stay behind tomorrow when me, Sam and Jo go to that demon Crowley's house, okay? Bobby, Ellen and Jesse are staying behind too," Dean said, though it was clear by his tone that there was no point in arguing with him because he wouldn't budge on the matter. "I mean, I need _someone _to keep those heathens under control."

He nudged Beth lightly a grin lighting up his face as Beth burst out laughing, staring up at him with bright hazel eyes. His sister tightened her arms around him, resting her cheek on his shoulder as he started laughing too, his body shaking slightly in her grasp.

"You're such an idiot," Beth whispered, though it lacked any heat and Dean caught on to the fond note in her voice almost immediately.

"It takes one to know one, little sister," Dean replied. He rubbed her arm gently, moving his gaze away from her and staring up at the sky instead.

* * *

Almost an hour had passed since Beth and Dean had gone outside to talk, and now they were just sitting on the trunk of the car in silence, enjoying each other's company.

"Hey, Dean?" Beth asked hesitantly, breaking the peaceful silence.

Dean turned his head to look down at her. "What's up?"

Beth almost lost her nerve as she met Dean's patient, curious green eyes. "I… Are you afraid of me? Of what I am, I mean."

Dean looked completely taken off guard at her questions. He also looked hurt that she would think such a thing and Beth was almost immediately overcome with guilt.

"I was at first," Dean admitted. Beth's face fell and then clouded over with hurt. Dean winced, realising how bad that had sounded. "You're misunderstanding me here, princess. I wasn't afraid of _you, _I was afraid of what it meant for you. So many people want to use you as a weapon and I'm scared that you're gonna end up hurt or… or _dead._ I'm still afraid of what's gonna happen. I just want to keep you safe. You're my sister, I will _never _be afraid of you, Beth. I love you for _who _you are not what you can do."

"…Thanks, Dean," Beth whispered, feeling touched by his words. She leaned against his side and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You haven't been thinking I'm afraid of you, have you?" Dean asked seriously, before a grin settled on his face as Beth started trying to stutter out a response. "I'm just messing with you, Beth. Besides, we all know I could kick your ass without breaking a sweat," Dean teased. Beth pushed him gently, grumbling about what an asshole he was under her breath.

"You wanna put that to the test?" Beth asked, sliding off the car and cracking her neck. "Let's see who can kick whose ass."

"Okay, you're on," Dean agreed, hopping off the car. "But no teleporting or whatever else it is that you can do."

"Fine. I don't need my angel side to beat you anyway," Beth said, shrugging carelessly.

"You keep telling yourself that, shorty," Dean snorted.

"Hey! I am not short, I'm fun sized," Beth argued, sending Dean a playful glare. A second later she charged at him and their play fight to see who would win began.

* * *

Sam, Dean, Castiel and Jo left early the next morning, before the sun had even begun to rise. The four of them had disappeared while the others slept, Bobby was on the couch while Ellen was in his room, Beth took the guest room as per usual and Jesse was in Sam and Dean's shared room.

Beth was the first one to wake up, though she just lay there in bed for about half an hour, thinking about the events of the past few months and the looming apocalypse. She just didn't understand why the weight of every single human life on earth had been placed on the shoulders of her and the rest of her small family. They all had roles to play in Michael and Lucifer's upcoming death match but they hadn't chosen them, why was it fair that they were being _forced _into those roles? She wouldn't wish it on anyone else, but she couldn't help but wish that it wasn't her family that was right in the middle of all this insanity. Though, she supposed if it had been anyone else in their position, they would've been thinking the same thing.

She sighed heavily as she pushed back the duvet and slipped out of the bed. She stopped briefly to pull a loose sweater on and pat down her hair before she headed down the hall and down the staircase.

Bobby was in the kitchen with Ellen when Beth walked in, the two adults were chatting quietly amongst themselves as they sipped occasionally at luke-warm coffee. Ellen looked up when she heard Beth's footsteps and the older female smiled politely.

"Hey Beth, how'd ya sleep?"

"Dreamless. Which is a first," Beth admitted as she reached eagerly for the fresh pot of coffee and poured herself a generous amount of the dark liquid. She poured in a little milk and stirred it quickly before sitting at the table and taking a small sip from the faded green mug. "How about yourself?"

"Not too bad," Ellen replied. "Came down this morning to find Bobby here snoring away like a monster truck engine." The two women shared an amused grin as Bobby starting sputtering in indignation. "Calm down, old man. You know I'm just messing with you."

"Damn women," Bobby grumbled under his breath, though his voice lacked any heat.

"Love you too, Bobby," Beth smiled into her cup of coffee. "Have you heard from Sam or Dean yet?"

"Jo called about an hour ago, said they were almost there. They're gonna wait till dark before they go in for the Colt," Ellen explained.

"I hope they'll be okay," Beth murmured softly. Ellen smiled and reached out to squeeze the brunette's hand.

"They're both as stubborn as each other," Bobby input. "They'll be fine. Besides, Jo will kick their asses if they do anything stupid."

Beth finished her coffee and washed her cup out before sticking it back in the cupboard. "I'm gonna for a walk, explore the property."

"There's an old barn out back if you have a look in there," Bobby said. Beth nodded and bid them both goodbye as she left the room, heading for the back door.

* * *

A little while later, Beth found herself in Bobby's old barn sitting cross-legged on the dirty ground as she carefully riffled through a box full of old photo albums. She pulled one out that had a label with the name '_Property of Karen Singer_' on it in neat cursive writing.

She slowly opened the album, the first picture she saw was of a woman with dark blonde hair and light blue eyes next to a slightly younger version of Bobby. The woman was smiling widely, while Bobby's smile was smaller and more reserved. Photo-Bobby had an arm around the woman's waist and she had hers around his shoulders. Under the photo was the caption '_Bobby + Karen's engagement party'_.

"Wow. I never knew Bobby was engaged," Beth whispered as she turned the page. The next one was clearly taken on Bobby and Karen's wedding day as Karen was wearing an elegant white dress and Bobby was in a suit. They had bridesmaids and best men on either side of them.

"Hey Cas," Beth smiled as she heard the flutter of wings and then Cas was lowering himself to sit beside her. "What are you doing back so soon?"

"The demon Crowley's home is warded against angels," he explained. "I told Dean the location of his house and came back here. What are you looking at?"

"Bobby and his wife's wedding album," Beth explained, holding it out to show him the picture she'd been looking at. "I didn't know he had a wife."

"Ah yes, Karen Singer," Castiel said in understanding. His eyes flickered back up to meet Beth's. "She was possessed by a demon and Bobby killed her. It happened before he knew about hunting."

"That's so sad," Beth whispered, glancing back down at the album. She gently closed the album and cradled it against her chest. "We should head back inside and start discussing a plan, seeing as we're gonna try and kill the devil and all."

Castiel nodded and stood up, extending a hand to her. Beth took it, still cradling the album to her as she was pulled to her feet and the two of them left the barn, walking slowly towards the house.


End file.
